RCB stampede: Siddaramaiah faces ire for making Bengaluru police commissioner Dayananda 'scapegoat'; suspension stirs debate

The suspension of Bengaluru police commissioner B. Dayananda and four other police officers by the Karnataka government citing “dereliction” of duty has been met with criticism by the opposition parties, retired police commissioners and netizens, who are now demanding the resignation of the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for the same reason. 

The opposition parties—Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular)—have also alleged that the ruling Congress has made a scapegoat of the top cop to hide its own failures.

ADGP (BMTF) Seemanth Kumar Singh is the new Bengaluru police commissioner. Dayananda and four other police officers were suspended following the stampede that claimed 11 lives during the RCB victory celebration outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

The government order issued by the Karnataka home department stated that, on June 4, 2025, there had been a stampede during the victory celebrations of RCB in the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, where 11 people had died and more than 50 people suffered injuries. And, that a magisterial inquiry would be conducted by the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district and the report would be submitted within 15 days.

“On examination of the way the events have unfolded leading to the tragedy, prima facie, it is found there has been 'substantial dereliction' of duty by the following officers: B. Dayananda, IPS, Additional Director General & Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, Bengaluru; Vikash Kumar Vikash, IPS, Inspector General & Additional Commissioner of Police, West, Bengaluru City; Shekar H. Tekkannavar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Division, Bengaluru City; C. Balakrishna, Asst Commissioner of Police, Cubbon Park, Bengaluru; and A.K. Girish, Police Inspector, Cubbon Park Police Station, Bengaluru,” noted the order.

Elaborating on the sequence of events, the order stated that the CEO of RCB had informed the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City on June 3, about holding the victory parade and celebrations on June 4. However, the office of the police commissioner had failed to give a written reply to the organisers, rejecting the permission on the grounds of lack of time to prepare for such a huge event.

“The RCB and the Cricket Association went ahead to tweet about the celebrations and inviting the fans to the Chinnaswamy stadium without going through the usual practice of issuing passes or tickets. Despite the knowledge of these developments and expectation of huge turnout of cricket fans, the police department had taken no effort to either organise the event systematically at the stadium or to disseminate information to the public to take necessary precautions for their safety. It did not depute the Police force for appropriate crowd management,” stated the order.

It was also alleged that the above situation was not discussed with the higher-ups for taking necessary guidance and advice in the matter. As a result, the situation went out of control and brought a lot of misery, loss of precious life and embarrassment to the government, read the order dated June 5, 2025.

Stating that the conduct of the IPS officers was in gross violation of IAS (Conduct) Rules and that of the ACP and police inspector was in gross violation of Karnataka State Police (Disciplinary proceedings) Rules, 1965, the Karnataka government placed the five officers under suspension with immediate effect, in exercise of the powers under Rule 3(1)(a) of the All India Service (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969, and under Rule 5 of Karnataka State Police (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules, 1965.

Opposition leader R. Ashok, in a post on X, said, “The wolves in Karnataka government continue to hunt for scapegoats to absolve themselves from the sin of the Bengaluru stampede. Shame on CM and DCM. First, they killed 11 innocent citizens, then they killed the morale of the police department by suspending senior cops. They are now looking for more scapegoats.”

Ashok also claimed that the tragedy was a result of the “shadow boxing” between the CM and DCM. “Shivakumar praised and complimented the police officers yesterday and the CM is today suspending the Bengaluru police commissioner and other officers. What is happening in the Karnataka government? AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi must answer,” he added.

Retired IPS officer and former Bengaluru commissioner, Jyoti Prakash Mirji, said, “The suspension is a highly irresponsible decision. The government should conduct an inquiry before suspending a senior-level officer. The inquiry against a police commissioner can be conducted only by a DG-level officer, home secretary, or chief secretary and the government can take action only based on the inquiry report. Such major decisions (like suspension) should not be taken either to save their own skin or to escape scrutiny by the media. The government has not applied its mind.”

Mirji said the government had gone ahead with the back-to-back celebrations against police advice. “The police were against holding the event in a hurry. But, the government went ahead with the celebrations in haste, and possibly under pressure, and now the suspension is also made in haste. I joined the police force in 1976, and I haven't seen anything like an instant suspension of a commissioner without any preliminary inquiry. I believe the police did the bandobast and there could have been some pressure points. We cannot comment as we were not on the spot managing it," said Mirji.

Former police commissioner Bhaskar Rao called it the “darkest day” in the history of Karnataka police. “Mr Siddaramaiah has gone into panic mode. The suspension of Bengaluru City police commissioner is the darkest day in the history of Karnataka police. It is the price he paid for telling the truth and for slogging the whole night to keep Bengaluru safe.  Everyone in Karnataka knows that it was the ‘uncontrollable’ deputy chief minister who orchestrated the death march, who is the main culprit. No chief minister has become as helpless, cowardly, nervous and panic-struck. The government has blood on its hands and now has lost its mind too. The Government is now in disaster.”