Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has approved the Justice John Michael D’Cunha Commission report on the tragic June 4 stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left over 50 injured. The commission found gross negligence on the part of multiple stakeholders, including Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), DNA Entertainment, and senior Bengaluru police officers.

Event Overlap and Chaos

The stampede occurred around 3:25 PM during a public felicitation event for RCB’s IPL win, held on the same day as a state function celebrating the victory at Vidhana Soudha, just under a kilometer away. This scheduling overlap led to unmanageable crowd congestion, which, according to the report, was entirely avoidable.

Damning Findings

The judicial commission, set up after the Karnataka High Court took suo motu cognizance, cited serious failures in planning, coordination, and crowd control:

  • Only 79 police personnel were deployed inside the stadium; none outside.

  • No ambulances were stationed at the venue.

  • Senior officials arrived late—the Joint Commissioner of Police reached the site 30 minutes post-stampede, and the Police Commissioner was notified nearly two hours later.

    • Legal Action Cleared

    Compiled from site inspections, eyewitness accounts, and testimonies from officials and organizers, the report urged legal and departmental action. The state cabinet has now cleared the way for action against:

    • RCB franchise

  • KSCA

  • DNA Entertainment

  • Senior police officers involved in the mishandling

    • This marks a significant step in ensuring accountability for one of Bengaluru’s most avoidable mass-casualty events in recent history.