Bengaluru stampede: 'Is CM wrong to direct arrest based on FIR', observes Karnataka HC on plea challenging Nikhil Sosale's arrest

Nikhil Sosale had been arrested in the early hours of Friday

Hearing a plea filed by the wife of Royal Challengers Bengaluru marketing and revenue head Nikhil Sosale, the Karnataka High Court on Monday sought answers whether -- karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah was wrong in ordering an arrest based on the First Information Report (FIR).

The observation comes after Nikhil Sosale's wife, challenging his arrest, mentioned in her plea that her husband was arrested not after a thorough probe, but merely on the orders of the chief minister.

Sosale had been arrested in the early hours of Friday at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, from where he was scheduled to catch a flight reportedly for Mumbai.

Besides the RCB marking chief, three executives belonging to event management company DNA Entertainment were also detained at the airport in what was a joint operation between the Central Crime Branch and Bengaluru Police.

Sosale and the DNA employees were later taken to Cubbon Park Police Station, whose jurisdiction covers the iconic cricket stadium where a stampede broke out on Wednesday while a felicitation event was being held to celebrate RCB’s maiden IPL title. The tragic incident left 11 dead and left several more – as many as 75 according to some reports – injured.

Sosale, a marketing and revenue professional with more than 15 years of experience in the sports and beverage sectors, had moved the Karnataka High Court contending that the manner in which he was arrested at the airport was illegal, arbitrary and violative of his fundamental rights, according to Bar and Bench.