The tragic stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives and left over 50 injured, was linked to mismanagement and lapses by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The Karnataka government submitted a report to the High Court revealing that RCB did not seek formal permission for the June 4 victory parade.
Instead, they only informed the police, violating the city’s 2009 regulations. The police, therefore, denied permission. Despite this, RCB went ahead and promoted the event publicly on June 4, including a video featuring Virat Kohli encouraging fans to attend.
“On 04.06.2025, the RCB, unilaterally and without consultation/ permission from the Bangalore City Police, posted a photo at 7:01 a.m on the official RCB handle on social media (Instagram, Facebook, ‘X’) informing that there is free entry for people and inviting the public to participate in the Victory Parade…” the official report stated. They followed it up with another post at 8 a.m., a video of Virat Kohli at 8:55 a.m., and a final announcement at 3:14 p.m. declaring the victory parade would start at Vidhana Soudha and end at the stadium.
“I’m going to feel the real side of it when we get to Bengaluru tomorrow and celebrate this with the city” – Virat Kohli ❤️🙌
King Kohli walks into the dressing room with ABD, talks about Rajat’s leadership, Jitesh’s smartness, and the team coming together to achieve this… pic.twitter.com/aqLY7LHvvE
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 4, 2025
🚨 RCB Victory Parade: Today at 5 pm IST. ‼️
Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium.
We request all fans to follow guidelines set by police and other authorities, so that everyone can enjoy the roadshow peacefully.
Free passes (limited… pic.twitter.com/raJMXlop5O
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 4, 2025
12th Man Army, we can't wait to be back to the Home of Champions and celebrate with all of you today🏆❤️
Deatils out soon. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/j0uvLQiK3G
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 4, 2025
🚨 RCB Victory Parade in Bengaluru ‼️
This one’s for you, 12th Man Army.
For every cheer, every tear, every year.
𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬.🏆More details soon… pic.twitter.com/fMWuCGkVWX
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 4, 2025
Unclear Communication and Overcrowding
The report highlighted that RCB’s posts created the impression that the event was open to everyone. “This post mentioned, for the first and only time, that free passes (limited entry) were available on shop.royalchallengers.com, and until this point, there had been no information regarding the disbursement of passes, implying that the event was open to all based on RCB’s prior posts.”
These posts attracted massive attention, with lakhs of views on each. The fourth post alone drew around 17 lakh views. As a result, over 3 lakh people gathered outside the venue. Just before the event at 3:14 p.m., organizers suddenly announced that passes were now required, contradicting earlier posts and causing chaos.
Due to poor coordination among RCB, DNA (the event organizer), and KSCA, as well as confusion at entry gates, crowd panic led to a stampede. Even seven police officers were injured. Authorities decided to continue with a smaller version of the celebration to control the situation.
Government Action and Aftermath
The tragedy prompted multiple responses. A judicial and magisterial inquiry was ordered, FIRs were registered, and senior police officers were suspended. The Chief Minister’s political secretary was also suspended, and the state intelligence chief was transferred. Compensation for victims’ families was initially set at Rs 10 lakh but later raised to Rs 25 lakh each. On June 5, a commission led by a retired High Court judge was formed to investigate the causes of the incident.
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