Karnataka High Court seeks report from Siddaramaiah govt over Bengaluru stampede case: ‘Do you have any SOP…’

According to chief minister Siddaramaiah, around 2-3 lakh people had gathered to witness the victory celebration

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday took suo motu cognizance of the Bengaluru stampede tragedy that resulted in the loss of 11 lives and injured over 40. Issuing a notice to the Siddaramaiah-led government, the court sought a detailed status report on the incident, news agency ANI reported.

"News items have been published in various newspapers, narrating the tragedy that happened when 11 persons died and 75 were injured during the course of the victory celebration of RCB. This court is taking cognizance of the incident," the High Court said, according to the report.

The incident took place when a huge crowd gathered outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to get a glimpse of RCB team post their first win in the IPL after beating Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

According to chief minister Siddaramaiah, around 2-3 lakh people had gathered to witness the victory celebration at the stadium which was meant to accommodate only around 35,000 people. Meanwhile, the Karnataka government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased killed in the stampede.

Issuing notice to the Karnataka government, the HC said, "To ascertain the cause of the tragedy and how to prevent it in future, we have also received communications from several persons on this subject matter. We issue a notice to the state government."

The matter will be heard again on June 10.

Attorney General of Karnataka in the High Court, sharing details of the tragedy, pointed that there was enough police deployment on the spot. However, people gathered in large numbers which was beyond expectations.

“Suppose if anything happens of this nature in future, do you have any SOP?” the bench questioned, according to a report by Live Law. The Attorney General said that this was "futuristic".

CM Siddaramaiah has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the tragedy under the leadership of Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner.