Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) triumph at the 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) took an ugly turn on Wednesday. While team and fans celebrated in huge numbers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the mismanagement of the crowd led to multiple deaths after a stampede like situation outside the venue.
The exact number of deaths is yet to be verified but reports of at least 11 succumbing in the mishap have emerged. Meanwhile, several others have been left injured.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia called the incident "unfortunate", stating that RCB's IPL-winning celebrations should have been planned better. "It is very unfortunate. This is a negative side of popularity. People are crazy for their cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better. My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. I wish early recovery of the injured," Saikia told PTI.
"When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions, safety and security measures need to be taken. There have been some lapses somewhere. After such a glorious ending to the IPL, this has been an anti climax. There have been IPL celebrations in the past as well, like in Kolkata last year when KKR won but nothing happened there."
Saikia also cited the examples of the celebrations in Mumbai following India's T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados. "Same was the case when we won the T20 World Cup. There was a sea of human in Mumbai but nothing happened. Police and local authorities worked in tandem to ensure smooth conduct. I hope nothing more untoward happens.
"Even yesterday (Tuesday) in Ahmedabad, during the IPL final, there were 120,000 people at the stadium but BCCI has a dedicated team which has done elaborate planning in coordination with local district administration and law enforcing authorities to ensure that safety and security of the spectators," Saikia added.
Meanwhile, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla speaking to reporters said: "This can happen in any state and the ruling party should not be blamed for it. It should not be politicised. If this happens in a BJP-ruled state, we should not blame them. The crowd was huge, I spoke to the franchise, they also did not think that such a huge crowd would come and this incident happened suddenly. Efforts are being made to provide maximum help to the families of the deceased."
IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal also raised questions about the event. "No idea who organised the event," he was quoted as saying by NDTVProfit.
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