Only 1,000 police for 2.5 lakh crowd at RCB event, Karnataka govt admits in court

The Karnataka government on Thursday informed the High Court that just over 1,000 police personnel were deployed for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) IPL celebration at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, contradicting Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s earlier claim of 5,000 officers on duty. The event witnessed a deadly stampede that claimed 11 lives, with the crowd swelling far beyond the stadium’s 35,000 capacity.

The state counsel acknowledged that 2.5 lakh people gathered outside the stadium—many under the assumption of free entry. By mid-afternoon, the area around the stadium was completely blocked. The government submitted a detailed map to the court, identifying the locations of the fatalities: 4 at Gate 7, 3 at Gate 6, and 4 at Queens Road.

A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwara Rao and Justice CM Joshi took suo motu cognisance of the tragedy. The court questioned the lack of a crowd control protocol, to which the state replied that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was under development, as ordered by the Chief Minister post-incident. Ambulances, water tankers, and command vehicles were reportedly present, but the crowd overwhelmed the infrastructure.

The court was also informed that ticketing and crowd management were handled by RCB and its event managers. An FIR has been registered, and notices issued to involved parties to determine accountability. The matter has been formally taken up by the court, which has asked for a status report before the next hearing on Tuesday.