The story so far

The tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans, has snowballed into a major political and administrative crisis. Among those facing the heat is MLC K. Govindaraj, who has been removed from his post as Political Secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Several senior police officials, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, have been suspended by the government.

What was meant to be a moment of historic celebration, RCB’s first IPL title win in 18 years, has turned into one of the State’s worst crowd-control disasters in recent times. Instead of jubilation, the incident has left the Congress-led Karnataka government grappling with outrage, questions over mismanagement, and demands for accountability.

Though a judicial probe and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe have been ordered, serious concerns remain about what exactly led to the deadly chaos and whether it could have been prevented.

What went wrong during RCB’s victory celebrations?