Subhechcha Ganguly 
A jubilant celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title turned tragic on Wednesday evening, as a massive stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed at least 11 lives and left over 30 people injured.
According to police sources, the crowd swelled uncontrollably with over 50,000 people cramming into a 1-kilometre radius around the stadium. Although the stadium holds a capacity of 35,000, officials estimated that between 2 to 3 lakh fans had gathered in hopes of being part of the historic celebration.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, addressing the media, blamed poor coordination and the sheer scale of turnout for the incident. “There are narrow gates. The crowd broke through some of them. Nobody anticipated such a massive gathering. Prima facie, it seems to be a result of overwhelming numbers,” he said, adding that a formal inquiry will uncover further details.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar echoed the concern, calling the situation “absolutely uncontrollable.”
A senior police official, speaking anonymously, admitted, “The crowd went beyond manageable levels. Even with a large police deployment, it was not enough. We had to use mild force in some areas. The narrow gates and aggressive push to enter led to the chaos.”
By 3:30 PM, authorities were forced to close all gates due to intense crowd pressure. Eyewitnesses and videos from the site showed fans scaling walls, pushing through barriers, and shouting “RCB, RCB” in desperation.
Police said while entry was permitted for fans with valid tickets, many without passes tried to sneak in alongside others, leading to panic and crush-like conditions.
An investigation is currently underway to determine lapses and identify those responsible for managing the event logistics.
