For comparison, previous IPL matches at the stadium typically attracted about 32,000 spectators – less than one-seventh of the crowd estimated outside the gates on Wednesday – and were managed by around 700 police personnel.
Published Jun 06, 2025 | 12:19 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 06, 2025 | 4:13 AM
RCB moves Karnataka High Court to expunge CAT remarks linking team to Chinnaswamy stadium stampede(Sriharikanth)
Synopsis: An estimated 1,600 police personnel were tasked with ensuring security in Bengaluru following RCB’s historic IPL victory on Tuesday night, even as 2.5 lakh fans surged into the Central Business District the following evening for the team’s felicitation ceremony, leading to a tragic stampede that claimed 11 lives and left 47 injured, reveals a document submitted to the Karnataka High Court.
Even as an estimated 2.5 lakh people gathered in central Bengaluru on 4 June to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic IPL victory, only around 1,600 police and emergency personnel were deployed across the city to maintain law and order.
The limited security arrangement, detailed in a statement of facts submitted on 5 June to the Karnataka High Court, preceded the tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives and left 47 injured.
For comparison, regular IPL matches at the stadium typically attract about 32,000 spectators – less than one-seventh of the crowd estimated outside the gates on Wednesday – and are usually managed with around 700 personnel.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday morning issued a notice to the state government, directing it to submit a detailed report on the planning, deployment, and response measures taken. The matter has been relisted for hearing on 10 June.
The government informed the court that an FIR has been registered at Cubbon Park Police Station under Crime No. 123/2025 for the incident that occurred on 4 June 2025. The charges include sections 105, 125(1)(2), 132, 121/1, and 190, read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The submission said that the FIR has been transferred to the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), with instructions to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) within the CID for a thorough probe. The order transferring the investigation to the CID was still awaited at the time of this report.
According to the government’s submission, Bengaluru Police began security preparations on the night of 3 June, shortly after RCB’s IPL 2025 final win over Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad.
Over 1,300 personnel were deployed across the city on the night of 3 June. This included senior officers, supervisory staff, and ground-level personnel. The deployment breakdown is as follows:
In addition, 13 platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), comprising 325 personnel (13 × 25), were deployed specifically for maintaining law and order. This brought the total deployment to approximately 1,643 personnel.
On the day of the celebration, the following emergency resources were stationed across the city:
For context, average security deployment during earlier IPL matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium this season – with crowds of around 32,000 – was as follows:
Total: 789 personnel
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
