The government held Vikash Kumar Vikash and four other officers directly responsible for the tragedy, alleging “substantial dereliction of duty” and that their failure to act directly contributed to the chaos.
Published Jun 09, 2025 | 7:58 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 09, 2025 | 7:58 PM
Vikash Kumar VIkash.
Synopsis: Senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal challenging his suspension by the Karnataka government over the deadly 4 June stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government had accused Vikash and four other officers of “substantial dereliction of duty” for failing to control the situation, which left 11 dead and over 50 others injured.
Senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who served as Additional Inspector General and Additional Commissioner of Police, West, Bengaluru City, has approached the Central Administrative Tribunal challenging his suspension by the Karnataka government over the 4 June stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The petition, dated 8 June, names the Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka as the respondent.
The stampede occurred outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, during a felicitation ceremony organised for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, which had lifted the IPL trophy the previous day.
An estimated 2.5 lakh people had gathered at the stadium for the event. The resulting chaos left 11 dead and more than 50 injured.
The government held Vikash Kumar Vikash and four other officers directly responsible for the tragedy, alleging “substantial dereliction of duty” and that their failure to act directly contributed to the chaos. The others are:
The suspension order further stated that the Commissioner of Police was informed by the RCB CEO on 3 June about the planned victory parade.
However, the police did not issue a written response denying permission, citing inadequate time for preparation.
Despite the lack of official sanction, the RCB and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) went ahead with announcements and social media promotions, inviting fans to attend.
The order also noted that the matter was not escalated to higher authorities for guidance:
“As a result, the situation went out of control and brought a lot of misery, loss of precious life and embarrassment to the Government.”
In a separate development, a group of retired senior IPS officers have written an open letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressing concern over the suspensions and questioning the fairness of the government’s action.
“Senior police officers including the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, who has an unblemished record of service and integrity, have been suspended. They were made the fall guys. There is a general impression that the police officers have been victimised while those, whose haste, over-enthusiasm, and reluctance to take a stand, contributed to the tragedy have managed to get away,” the letter, dated 8 June, reads.
It further maintains that the officers in question had warned against holding the event at short notice:
“The local police, to the best of our knowledge, right from SHO Cubbon Park to DCP Vidhana Soudha and the Commissioner Police Bengaluru, had expressed their reservations on the request for celebrations owing to lack of time to prepare for the humongous crowds that were bound to turn up for the function/s and the road show.”
It also stated that police officials had both orally and in writing advised the government and organisers to postpone the event to Sunday, 8 June, allowing time for preparations.
“However, that was not to be. It appears that no written directions were given to the police overruling their objections. The organisers meanwhile kept inviting their fans to participate in the functions in large numbers, offering them free tickets/passes. In short, the professional advice of the police officers was not heeded and the organisers went ahead with the arrangements, presumably with the tacit support of the government. The consequences of disregarding professional police advice and going ahead with celebrations are there for anyone to see.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
