BENGALURU, June 4: Celebrations descended into chaos and finally tragedy as 11 people lost their lives and more than 30 were left injured outside the Chinnaswamy stadium while trying to join a party inside the venue to honour Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL triumph here on Wednesday.
However, the felicitation of the players went ahead nonetheless as the stadium was packed to the rafters despite the chaos.
Much like Tuesday night when the team’s win in Ahmedabad triggered a street party in the Garden City, Wednesday too had thousands, which eventually became lakhs, converging at the Chinnaswamy stadium, leaving the police outnumbered and struggling to take control of the situation.
The men in uniform tried to use mild force to disperse the crowd or to at least bring some order but that did little to discourage people, many of whom could be seen pressed against the stadium’s entrance gate, desperate to get in.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that 11 had died and 33 were injured “due to stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium. More than 2-3 lakh people came near Chinnaswamy Stadium, no one expected this crowd,” Siddaramaiah said.
“Most of deceased in RCB celebrations are youth. Government will provide Rs 10 lakh compensation to kin of deceased,” he added, while declaring that there will be a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
The injured are being treated at the nearby Vydehi hospital and Bowering hospital.
However, inside the Chinnaswamy, the show went on with players delivering speeches to acknowledge each other and the fans amid thumping music and bursting of firecrackers as well.
The scenes leading up to the tragedy reminded one of the historic welcome given to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad by Mumbai in July last year. However, while the sea of humanity had a gala time in Mumbai, things went haywire in the Garden City.
The rainy weather in the city didn’t help. The police had already endured a torrid time managing the crowd that flooded the streets to celebrate the triumph on Tuesday night. (PTI)
