A tragedy unfolded outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday after the management allegedly announced the free entry to the stadium for RCB’s felicitation event, which attracted an overwhelming crowd, The Times of India reported.
The uncontrolled rush, combined with a narrow entry gate, resulted in a deadly stampede that left 11 people dead and 47 others injured.
According to the TOI report, gate No 7 of the Chinnaswamy Stadium became the focal point of the disaster. Rumours had spread that free tickets were being given out at that gate. Although passes were initially issued, very few people could actually get them. Once the free entry was announced, thousands rushed to the stadium. As soon as the gates opened, chaos broke out.
The crowd, excited to see their favourite players, quickly turned unruly. People began pushing and shoving to get inside. Within minutes, the situation went out of control. Barricades were broken, and many people were crushed in the stampede. The situation worsened when it suddenly started raining around 5.30 pm, adding to the confusion and panic.
The stadium has 21 stands and 13 gates. Gates 5, 6, 7, 19, and 20, all close to the main entry, saw the biggest crowds. Most of the casualties happened near Gate 7. Many blamed poor crowd control and the indecision over whether to hold a citywide victory parade for making the situation worse.
"I could avoid the worst only because I reached late. Cops were not controlling the crowd in the real sense, and were just pushing people around," TOI quoted Sinchana N (25), who got caught in the melee, as saying.
In a separate incident, one fan, while climbing a gate to jump into the stadium, fell and broke his leg, Economic Times reported. Several others were seen climbing trees and hanging from branches to get a glimpse of the players.
As ambulances struggled to negotiate their way through the crowds, police resorted to lathicharge near Cubbon Park Circle around 6.30 pm to disperse the crowds.
Meanwhile, a large crowd also gathered outside Vidhana Soudha, where the RCB team met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The Chief Minister has ordered an investigation, with a report expected in 15 days. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has apologised, saying over 5,000 police personnel had been deployed and the event was kept short. “Lakhs of people came. The programme had ended within 10 minutes. We are trying to make everything normal... This is a young vibrant crowd, we can't use lathi," Shivakumar said.
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