What was meant to be a night of celebration turned into horror outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Thousands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans gathered to cheer on their team after a historic first Indian Premier League (IPL) title win. But joy quickly turned into chaos as a stampede near Cubbon Park claimed at least 11 lives and left dozens injured.
The situation spiraled when crowds surged toward a gate near the stadium. According to early reports, a temporary slab placed over a drain collapsed under the weight of fans, triggering panic in the tightly packed crowd. The resulting stampede caused widespread injuries and led to multiple deaths. Ambulances struggled to make their way through the congestion as emergency responders tried to pull people from the crush.
Panic, Blame, And Questions Over Planning
Daily Mail reported that 10 people lost their lives in the stampede. India Today later updated the toll to 11, warning it could rise further. Eyewitnesses described scenes of people tripping, falling, and being trampled as others tried desperately to escape the growing panic.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar spoke briefly to India Today TV, saying, “I can’t confirm the numbers yet. I’m going to the stadium now. Lot of emotional fans… we had deployed 5,000 personnel.” His comments gave little comfort to the affected families, and critics quickly slammed how officials handled the IPL victory parade.
Stampede during RCB's victory celebration, 11 deaths: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said –
— Kuldeep poonia (@Kuldeep60115912) June 4, 2025
3 lakh people gathered outside the stadium, we were not prepared. #ChinnaswamyStadium. #stempede. #RCB. pic.twitter.com/3mqq6euJp2
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi didn’t hold back in placing blame. “The state government in Karnataka has clearly failed in its responsibility. Celebrations is one thing, but the State government without proper planning, without taking emergency services into confidence, took this urgent and unfortunate decision,” he posted on X.
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Social media quickly filled with distressing visuals of ambulances navigating through the crowd, trying to reach those in need. Some onlookers assisted in carrying the injured to safety, while others wept as they watched the chaos unfold.
As officials scramble to piece together what went wrong, the city now faces difficult questions. Could this tragedy have been avoided? Were the crowd control measures enough? For now, the celebration has turned into mourning, and all attention and hatred is firmly on those responsible for keeping the people safe.
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