A day after the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives, the Karnataka government suspended the city police commissioner and three other senior police officials.
Initiating a series of disciplinary actions, in a big move, the Siddaramaiah-led government decided to suspend Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, along with an additional commissioner (West) Vikas Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central Bengaluru, Shekar H Tekkannanavar and assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Balakrishna.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the announcement during a press conference on Thursday, while asking the police to arrest representatives of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), DNA event management and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Administrative Committee. These entities have already been booked on charges of criminal negligence at Cubbon Park police station.
“The stampede incident that took place during the RCB celebrations is saddening and condolences were expressed to the deceased. A serious discussion was held on this issue in the cabinet meeting held as usual today (June 5). Some decisions were taken after discussing the unpleasant incident that took place yesterday,” Siddaramaiah said.
The Cubbon Park police station inspector and station house officer were also suspended. The action comes amid intense scrutiny and public outcry over the lapses in crowd management during the victory celebrations for IPL winners, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The state government’s intention is to hold all parties involved in organising the ill-fated event accountable, as preliminary investigation points towards significant lapses in planning and crowd control.
