Bengaluru stampede: BCCI secy says, 'organisers should have planned it better' as RCB victory takes tragic turn
The BCCI official contrasted the disarray in Bengaluru during RCB's victory celebrations with other large-scale cricket celebrations, such as India’s T20 World Cup victory parade in Mumbai.
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What began as a historic moment for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who clinched their maiden Indian Premier League title after 18 seasons, quickly turned somber as a post-victory celebration spiraled into chaos outside the city’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, leaving multiple fans dead and others injured in a stampede.
On Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), acknowledged what it described as serious lapses in planning and crowd control that marred the celebrations, as per a PTI report. The report quoted BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia. “It is very unfortunate. This is a negative side of popularity,” said Saikia, adding, "People are crazy for cricketers. The organisers should have planned it better. My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. I wish early recovery of the injured."
"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," Saikia said as per the report.
The tragedy unfolded when an overwhelming crowd, estimated in the hundreds of thousands, gathered outside the stadium gates, straining the city’s public safety infrastructure and exposing cracks in event planning and coordination between organizers and local authorities.
“This has been an anti-climax,” Saikia said, contrasting the disarray in Bengaluru with other recent large-scale cricket celebrations, such as India’s T20 World Cup victory parade in Mumbai or Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL win last year, where police presence and logistical planning kept events orderly.
While the BCCI distanced itself from the organization of the RCB celebration, Saikia noted that the league’s final in Ahmedabad, attended by over 120,000 people, was conducted without incident.
The report also stated that Arun Dhumal, chairman of the IPL, said he was unaware whether the celebration was formally sanctioned or spontaneously generated by fans. “It was not a BCCI event,” he said. “It is sad and tragic. The celebrations turned into a tragedy.” The BCCI has not announced whether it will conduct its own inquiry.
