Following the tragic incident during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory celebrations in Bengaluru, where a stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium resulted in the loss of eleven lives and injuries to several others on Wednesday, June 4, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia, commented on the event. Saikia stated that the organisers of the celebration needed to have implemented better planning measures, especially considering the scale of anticipated fan turnout after RCB's maiden IPL title win. The stadium was hosting the RCB team for the first time since their IPL 2025 title triumph.
BCCI has no role in it: Devajit Saikia on Bengaluru stampede
Clarifying the BCCI's involvement, Devajit Saikia explicitly mentioned that the cricket board had no direct role in organising the RCB victory celebration event. However, acknowledging the unfortunate incident, he emphasised that the BCCI would take the initiative to develop guidelines for conducting such large-scale celebratory events in the future to ensure better safety protocols and prevent such tragedies. As a point of reference, he noted the senior men's national cricket team's recent open-top bus parade in Mumbai to celebrate their 2024 T20 World Cup victory, implying a need for similar levels of planning and safety measures for all significant cricketing celebrations.
"It's very unfortunate what has happened. I think there were some lapses. The BCCI has no role in it. But it's a lesson to learn. We will look into forming new rules for such victory celebrations going forward," Saikia told Sports Tak.
The celebratory event at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was orchestrated by the Karnataka State Cricket Association. While entry to the venue was restricted to pass holders, an overwhelming number of fans, in their thousands, congregated outside the stadium. Their fervent hope was to catch a glimpse of the coveted IPL trophy and the victorious Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team as they celebrated their momentous maiden title win.
Tragically, according to initial information provided to the government authorities, a temporary slab that had been placed over a drain in the vicinity of the stadium gave way due to the immense weight of the people standing on it. This sudden structural failure triggered widespread panic among the crowd. The ensuing stampede led to the devastating loss of multiple lives and caused injuries to several other individuals who had gathered to partake in the celebrations.
In light of this unfortunate incident, the open-top bus parade, which had been eagerly anticipated and scheduled for Wednesday, was subsequently called off as a mark of respect and to ensure public safety. Furthermore, the interaction event held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the fans was concluded swiftly, with the RCB stars' speeches being concise, and the entire event wrapping up in under 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar confirmed that explicit instructions had been given to the organizers to ensure that the event concluded within a strict timeframe of 15 minutes. He also revealed that the state government had previously declined to grant permission for the planned open-top bus parade, suggesting concerns about managing such a large-scale public gathering.
Despite the later tragedy, extensive celebrations had initially been planned across Bengaluru to mark RCB's historic IPL triumph, which they secured by defeating Gujarat Titans in a thrilling final match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar had personally received the RCB players at the airport on Wednesday afternoon. Later in the day, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah felicitated the entire team, including captain Rajat Patidar and former captain Virat Kohli, at the Vidhana Soudha before they proceeded to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the fan interaction event.