Blame game begins, KSCA denies role in stampede, approches HC

After the Bengaluru stampede incident, the blame game has started in Karnataka. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) distanced itself from the chaos that erupted during the RCB victory celebrations, squarely blaming the state government, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and event organisers for the mismanagement that led to a stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The KSCA on Friday approached the High Court for an urgent hearing against the First Information Report (FIR) filed against it in connection with the recent stampede. According to the petition, the celebration event was convened on the orders of the Karnataka government.
In a statement, KSCA clarified that it had no role in organising the felicitation event and was neither involved in gate nor crowd management. “The decision to hold the event was taken by the government. It was conducted at Vidhana Soudha, not at Chinnaswamy Stadium,” the association said, adding that its involvement with the stadium is limited to venue rental and cricket-related affairs. “The celebration was facilitated by the government itself, in the presence of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, cabinet ministers, and senior police officials,” the cricket body added, underscoring that the event had official sanction at the highest levels.
Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy said, "Yesterday's decision taken by this government about the suspension of five senior police officers is another blunder made by this government. The entire fault lies with the government. To build their image by misusing this IPL trophy, both CM and DCM have taken their own decision, going against the advice of the police. After this incident occurred, the government blamed the police for this failure. Failure of the police also means the failure of the government only."

#WATCH | Bengaluru Stampede | Delhi: JDS MP from Karnataka's Mandya and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy says, "Yesterday's decision taken by this government about the suspension of five senior police officers is another blunder made by this government. The entire fault lies with… pic.twitter.com/Hc9h7LJ8mT

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2025

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for politicising the recent stampede. He said the state government has already taken action against officials who were found to be "visibly responsible" and "negligent in their duty."
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi says, "If there is a command in the high commanand,take action against DK Shivakumar first. Rahul Gandhi goes all over the world and talks about everything.Even after 11 people died, the program went on." he said.

ತವರೂರಿಗೆ ಆಗಮಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಆರ್​ಸಿಬಿ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಆತ್ಮೀಯವಾಗಿ ಬರಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು, ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಬ್ಬದ ವಾತಾವರಣ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ, ಸಂಭ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ ಎಂದು ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದು ನೀವು ಅಲ್ಲವೇ ಸಿದ್ದರಾಮಯ್ಯನವರೇ? ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ನೀವು ಸಂದೇಶ ರವಾನಿಸುತ್ತೀರಾ. ಉಪಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿಯವರು ಏರ್​ಪೋರ್ಟ್​ಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಸ್ವಾಗತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅವರೇ ಟೀಮ್​ಗೆ ಕೋಚಿಂಗ್… pic.twitter.com/g7WXzzgWPH

— Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) June 6, 2025

Meanwhile, MLC K Govindaraj has been relieved from the post of political secretary to the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with immediate effect, the government said on Friday. The decision is seen in connection with the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium here that killed 11 people. The stampede occurred on Wednesday evening in front of the stadium, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. Eleven people have died and 56 were injured in the incident.

(State Correspondent)