Police warnings ignored, poor planning: How RCB victory celebration turned deadly in Bengaluru

Experts cite a series of errors - rushed government decisions, conflicting messaging, poor planning, fatigued police force, crowd mismanagement, and delayed responses - that ended up being a recipe for disaster.

Bengaluru erupted in celebrations after RCB ended its 18-year IPL drought by defeating Punjab Kings on Tuesday night. Hours later, tragedy struck outside Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a stampede claimed 11 lives and injured around 50 during the team’s homecoming frenzy.

Experts cite a series of errors - rushed government decisions, conflicting messaging, poor planning, fatigued police force, crowd mismanagement, and delayed responses - that ended up being a recipe for disaster.

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What led to the chaos

RCB’s early morning social media announcement of a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium sparked huge excitement, with over a million likes and 1.5 million views on Instagram and X.

Also read: BCCI distances itself from RCB's Bengaluru event: 'Once the IPL final is over...'

However, by 11:55am Bengaluru city police clarified that no parade would be held; only a felicitation at the stadium from 5-6pm would be held. Despite this, RCB and Karnataka State Cricket Association pursued the state government for permission to hold a victory parade. Following the denial by Bengaluru police, many fans — including BJP leader and Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan — questioned the decision to not allow the parade.

At around 12:15pm, the Chief Minister’s Office officially announced that a felicitation ceremony for the team would be held at 4pm at Vidhana Soudha. Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar urged fans not to gather at HAL airport, but instead to come to Chinnaswamy Stadium. RCB members arrived at HAL airport around 2:30pm.

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Confusion escalated as an RCB social media post at 3:15pm reiterated parade plans and offered free online passes. However, police remained unclear on victory parade. A senior officer told Moneycontrol that the police force was exhausted from overnight celebrations and unprepared for the massive crowd. “We had advised to delay the event to better manage emotions and logistics, but political considerations prevailed” he said.

Also read: At 9.6 lakh, Bengaluru Metro breaks ridership record amid RCB celebration chaos

After 3:30pm, panic erupted when a pavement slab near the stadium collapsed under crowd pressure. Confusion over passes, narrow entry gates, a first-come-first-served pass system, lathi-charge to disperse the crowd, patchy mobile networks, and a crowd that vastly outnumbered the police all contributed to a stampede-like situation. Amid the surge, barricades also collapsed.

Another official told Moneycontrol that poor communication and coordination among multiple agencies, two different events within a 2 km radius, and a shortage of police personnel compounded the problem. “Police focused on Vidhana Soudha where more VIPs were present, leaving areas near Chinnaswamy stadium understaffed amid overwhelming crowds funnelling into the narrow Central Business District roads. Handling such a crowd with little preparation was nearly impossible” another official said. In fact, images of people climbing the High Court building, trees and other structures also went viral.

How it could have been averted

“There was no need for a felicitation at Vidhana Soudha. The parade, the Vidhana Soudha event - none of it was necessary. The team barely represents Bengaluru, yet a state-level function was organised. It was an artificial frenzy, fuelled by politicians and a section of the public looking for an excuse to go wild,” MG Devasahayam, a retired army and IAS officer, told Moneycontrol.

"RCB is a private club with few local players -what's the need for a state celebration? Politicians tried to gain mileage even after police warnings. The entire system collapsed: crowd frenzy, poor planning, and misplaced priorities. This isn’t the Olympics or World Cup. Chennai has won IPL multiple times and celebrated without such chaos,” he said.

Also read: Bengaluru Stampede: 11 killed, 47 injured during RCB celebrations; 2–3 lakh people converge on 35,000-capacity stadium, says CM Siddaramaiah

Experts said that postponing celebrations and spreading them over larger areas would have prevented the rush. Former Bengaluru police chief and BJP leader Bhaskar Rao told Moneycontrol: "It was a political decision to claim credit for RCB's win-players trained and played, yet the government rushed to celebrate in a prohibited area (Vidhana Soudha), violating a High Court order. There was no planning: no barricades, no crowd control, no preparation".

He said an already fatigued police force was given an impossible task with just a few hours’ notice. “RCB fans celebrations went on all night, and by the next afternoon, authorities decided to hold two illegal programmes with no infrastructure in place" Rao said.

"Now the CM is deflecting blame onto the police, which is unfair. This was a political failure, and the CM, DCM, and home minister must own it. Police are now being scapegoated for a disaster caused by political mis-judgment. They should have postponed the celebration instead of rushing into it while the frenzy was still at its peak. Anyone in Bengaluru that night would know - it felt like five to ten Deepavalis combined. The sky was lit up, and firecrackers went off till 4:30 or 5 in the morning,” said Rao.

He said they should have taken that as a cue to delay the event. “Just like during elections, we avoid processions immediately after results to prevent chaos. The same logic should have applied here. Now they claim foreign players were in a hurry to leave, so the event had to be rushed. But that’s just an excuse. Buckling under such pressure and risking public safety is unacceptable. These are unsubstantiated, unreasonable arguments used to justify a poorly planned and dangerous decision," said Rao

What govt and BCCI said

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “The entire Bengaluru police force was deployed. This shouldn’t have happened. We stand with the victims and won’t politicise this.” He ordered a magisterial inquiry with a 15-day deadline. He added, “People broke stadium gates, causing a stampede. The stadium has a capacity of 35,000, but 2–3 lakh people gathered.”

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar apologised, saying the crowd was uncontrollable and police had denied permission for an open-bus parade due to unexpectedly large numbers. The BCCI stated it had no role in organising the event but will review guidelines for future celebrations. RCB released a statement mourning the loss and urging fans to stay safe.

Back in 2008, Bengaluru held an open bus parade after India’s Under-19 World Cup win, with Virat Kohli taking a 10-km victory lap arranged by then-RCB owner Vijay Mallya.

Rao said: "The crowd should have been divided into multiple sectors. It’s like carrying water - if you try to move an entire drum, it’s unstable and difficult to manage. But if you divide it into smaller vessels, you can handle them more easily. Similarly, crowd control should have been managed in smaller, organised sections. The entire ground management was crucial. Unfortunately, the city police were already exhausted - on their feet since the previous night, dealing with the celebrations," said Rao.

What next

The state government appointed Bengaluru Urban DC G Jagadeesha to lead a magisterial probe into causes and accountability, with a report due in 15 days. Whether the probe will lead to meaningful action remains to be seen.

Also read: RCB mourns loss of lives in Chinnaswamy stampede: 'We urge our supporters to please stay safe'

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