Five Senior Officers Suspended After Bengaluru Stampede Leaves 11 Dead; CM Orders CID Probe
Bengaluru, June 5 – In the wake of the tragic stampede that claimed at least 11 lives near Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced the immediate suspension of five senior police officers, including Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division) Shekar H Tekkannavar.
The stampede occurred during victory celebrations organized by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) following their IPL playoff win. The incident left more than 50 people injured and sparked widespread public outrage over lapses in crowd management and event planning.
Government Action and Suspension Orders
According to the official suspension order, the following officers were found prima facie guilty of dereliction of duty:
- B. Dayananda, IPS – Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City
- Vikash Kumar Vikash, IPS – Additional Commissioner of Police, West
- Shekar H. Tekkannavar, IPS – DCP, Central Division
- C. Balakrishna – ACP, Cubbon Park
- A.K. Girish – Police Inspector, Cubbon Park Police Station
The government has stated that these officers failed to act on prior information, did not respond to the organisers’ requests in writing, and did not implement any crowd control or public safety measures despite being aware of the anticipated large turnout. Their actions were deemed a gross violation of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules and the Karnataka State Police (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules, 1965.
During their suspension, the officers are prohibited from leaving headquarters without written permission from the state government.
New Commissioner Appointed
In response to the administrative failure, the government has appointed Seemanth Kumar Singh, a 1996 batch IPS officer and ADGP of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force, as the new Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru City.
Judicial Inquiry and CID Probe Ordered
At an emergency press briefing held at Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also announced the formation of a one-man judicial commission headed by retired High Court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha to investigate the incident thoroughly.
In addition, the case has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for a parallel probe.
Negligence and Social Media Confusion
The order revealed that the RCB management had informed the police on June 3 about the planned victory parade, but no formal permission was granted or denied. Instead, RCB and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) proceeded to promote the event via social media, encouraging public participation without the issuance of proper tickets or crowd control protocols.
Despite knowing the scale of the event, the police failed to either coordinate the event systematically or deploy sufficient forces to manage the crowd, resulting in chaos and tragedy.
Public and Political Backlash
The incident has raised serious questions about public safety preparedness and the accountability of law enforcement agencies during mass events. With mounting pressure, the state government has pledged a transparent and time-bound inquiry.
The magisterial inquiry report is expected within 15 days from the Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Bengaluru Urban.
