The Karnataka High Court, which took suo motu cognizance of the stampede that claimed 11 lives during the RCB victory celebrations outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, has relisted the case for further proceedings on June 10, when a related PIL will also be heard.
During the hearing that came up before a bench of acting Chief Justice V. Kameshwar Rao and Justice C.M. Joshi, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty gave details of the incident and said, “Eleven persons are dead of which five are women and six men, and they belong to Bengaluru, Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Yadgir, Tumkur districts. The injured have received treatment at the hospitals. As of today, six injured are in hospital and would be discharged today.”
The AG also stated that a total of 1,483 police officials including the police commissioner and senior officers, were present on the ground, where more than 2.5 lakh people had congregated. A magisterial inquiry has already commenced and within 15 days will place the report on record, he added.
The court directed the state government to submit a status report and asked about the standard operating procedure (SOP) in place for such events.
The AG stated that the government will prepare an SOP to prevent similar incidents in the future, including details on ambulance deployment and hospital arrangements.
The court inquired as to what was the system followed during the IPL matches that attract huge crowds. The AG clarified stating that RCB franchise handles the event management and security arrangement during the matches.
Highlighting the lapses, the AG admitted that while ambulances were present, they were insufficient to handle the large number of injured. The court noted that the large crowd was partly due to the announcement of free entry.
Giving details of stadium gates, the AG stated that there were 21 gates that were open and the people (fans) were allowed inside and seated. However, two lakh people were stranded outside the stadium (as it was full). He also added that the government was as “concerned” about it as much as anyone else and that the chief minister’s first statement after the incident was about compensation and medical treatment to be given to the injured.
On the process of inquiry (by Bengaluru Urban DC), the AG said the inquiry would be video recorded and placed before the court.
The HC, in its order, referring to the news reports said the court had taken cognizance of the case following news items published in various newspapers narrating the tragedy where 11 persons had died and 75 injured during the course of the RCB’s victory celebration. “We also received communications from several people on this subject matter, seeking to ascertain the cause of the tragedy and how to prevent it in future.
Meanwhile, advocate Arun Shyam, the counsel for petitioner in the related PIL sought the state to clarify as to who took the decision to felicitate the RCB players and what was the state government’s “obligation” to felicitate players who did not play for the country. He alleged criminal negligence stating only three gates had been opened at the stadium, which did not have the capacity to accommodate such a huge number of fans. Shyam also submitted that two events had taken place – one at Vidhana Soudha and the other at the stadium. “Let the government give details of where the ambulances had been deployed.” He also pressed for notices to be issued to IPL and others.
The court responded saying it would consider (issuing notices to IPL and others) once the status reports are tabled.
