Karnataka tells HC 1,000 cops present, Counters DKS’s 5,000 claim

The Karnataka government told the High Court on Thursday that over 1,000 police personnel, including the City Police Commissioner, DCPs, and ACPs, were deployed at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on the day of the stampede, which resulted in 11 deaths. This comes a day after Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar claimed that 5,000 police personnel were present to manage the crowd.His statement raised eyebrows and led to legal scrutiny, which prompted the court to seek actual details from the state authorities.
In a hearing on Thursday, a bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi said it has taken suo moto cognisance to ascertain whether the tragedy could have been prevented and what measures can be taken to ensure this does not happen in the future.Appearing before a bench, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty told the court, “We are not taking an adversarial approach. Whatever direction the court gives, we are ready to act." As per Law Chakra report,The government said crowd surge from over 2.5 lakh people caused the tragedy despite heavy arrangements.
The state government clarified in court that along with police deployment, several other safety arrangements had also been made. They mentioned that water tankers, ambulances, and command and control vehicles were deployed. The state told the court that this was “far more” than the arrangements made during earlier cricket matches at the same venue.Shetty presented a map of the stadium highlighting where the deaths took place: Gate 7 (4 deaths), Gate 6 (3 deaths), and Queens Road (4 deaths)..
When the bench asked how many gates the stadium had, the government responded that there are 21 gates, and all of them were open during the event. Additionally, some members of the public had already entered the stadium and were seated inside when the chaos began. The bench also asked whether there was a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in place for such large gatherings. In response, the state admitted that SOPs for such situations are still in development and referred to them as “futuristic.” The matter is now scheduled for hearing on June 10, where the government is expected to submit its official explanation and action taken report.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru police have registered a case against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), DNA Networks, and others in connection with the stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed eleven lives and injured several others. The FIR was filed by the Cubbon Park Police, confirmed by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central, Shekar H Tekkannavar. It was registered suo motu and names multiple entities as accused in the case of alleged criminal negligence.

(State Correspondent)