The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to submit a comprehensive report detailing the circumstances that led to the stampede during the victory celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The court has listed nine points and has sought answers from the government.
The directive was issued while hearing a petition related to the incident that resulted in the death of 11 people and left 56 injured, raising serious concerns over public safety and administrative oversight.
The High Court has asked for detailed explanations of several key aspects of the incident. Authorities have been instructed to clarify who took the decision to organise the event, when it was made, and how it was formalised.
Further, the Court has demanded information on the measures taken for traffic regulation and public crowd control, noting that there was a lack of proper planning. The court has also asked authorities to disclose the medical and other emergency measures arranged at the site and whether any immediate treatment was provided.
The bench also questioned whether the organisers had anticipated the scale of the crowd. “Was there a prior decision on the number of people expected to attend the event?” the Court asked.
In addition, the Court has sought information on the time taken to transport injured individuals to nearby hospitals and whether any Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for managing large gatherings—especially those exceeding 50,000 people-were in place.
Crucially, the court has also said that the report must state whether the organisers had obtained official permission to hold the event and if so, from which authority and under what terms.
The government has been given time until the next hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, to submit the report covering all nine points listed by the Court.
The Karnataka government informed the High Court that the investigation into the stampede has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be constituted within the CID to ensure a robust probe into the incident.
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