Bengaluru stampede probe: Tribunal holds RCB responsible, revokes suspension of IPS officer

11 people lost their lives during RCB's victory parade.

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday prima facie held Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) responsible for the stampede that claimed 11 lives in Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4.

The tribunal also revoked the suspension order of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was suspended as the Additional Commissioner after the incident. The tribunal said that police personnel are not God or magician and they can't be expected to make arrangements in 12 hours.

The tribunal has also ordered the government to consider his suspension period as official duty, reported News 18.

This comes two days after the Centre formally approved the suspension of Vikash and two other senior IPS officers, B Dayanand and Shekhar, following the government's recommendation to suspend these officers for lapses in crowd management.

Days after being suspended, Vikash has approached the CAT, questioning the legality and rationale of the disciplinary action against him. Vikash argued that the government’s order “lacks clarity on his individual responsibility in the incident and fails to establish any act of wilful negligence".

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the details of the order.

The stampede occurred outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in which 11 people died, and over 50 were injured, during the celebrations as the team of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) reached the city after clinching their maiden IPL title.

While Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, during a review meeting in the state, said, "Senior officers provided correct information immediately, we could have called off the stadium program in time".

He also expressed concern over the declining quality of police investigations in Karnataka, even as the overall crime rate has decreased — a development he described as "a matter of relief."

“I have been an MLA since 1983 and have also served as CM before — I’ve never witnessed such a stampede. What is the purpose of the intelligence department if it fails to provide proper and timely information?” He added that due to the failure in communication, 11 lives were lost.