Fatal Fanfare

Bengaluru has lived through a preventable tragedy that should shame its political and police establishment. As over two lakh cricket fans poured into the heart of the city to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first IPL victory in 18 years, what should have been a moment of cathartic joy for a sport-mad city devolved into chaos, carnage and death when at least 11 were killed and more than 30 injured while countless others traumatised in a deadly stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

India is no stranger to vast and passionate crowds. When the Indian team won the T20 World Cup in Mumbai last year, a triumphant parade was hosted that rivalled any in global sporting history. Marine Drive teemed with humanity. But thanks to the anticipation, professionalism and deft orchestration of the Mumbai Police, that event ended with tears of joy not of grief unlike the RCB victory parade.

That celebration offered a blueprint for how to manage euphoric, uncontainable mass enthusiasm. Bengaluru, by contrast, showed how quickly things fall apart when the state abandons its duty of care.

The Karnataka government and city police cannot plead surprise. A letter from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) a day before the event had requested permission to hold a felicitation event for the RCB team outside the Vidhana Soudha. This flatly contradicts the state’s post-tragedy claim that it had little time to prepare. The truth is uglier as the warnings of a potential stampede were ignored. The police themselves had flagged the parade as ‘high-risk.’ Despite this, both the KSCA and RCB organisers had confirmed a public parade via social media barely two hours before the event. Their contradictory messaging sowed deadly confusion.

Crowds surged between the Vidhana Soudha and Chinnaswamy Stadium, overwhelming the narrow thoroughfares in between as people jostled to glimpse their heroes. When the barricades collapsed, panic rippled through the mass. People were trampled and metal frames turned into deathtraps.

What makes this tragedy all the more enraging is the unforgivable redeployment of police personnel. A disproportionate number of officers were assigned to the Vidhana Soudha to protect the CM, Deputy CM and the Governor. There was a gaping shortage of manpower at the stadium, where crowds had ballooned. The priority was to protect VIPs and not the people.

Compare this to the Mumbai Police’s performance last year. They anticipated crowds, issued traffic advisories and deployed their force where the public actually gathered. There was no bureaucratic buck-passing. For all its congestion and chaos, Mumbai rose to the occasion while Bengaluru crumbled.

To attribute the Bengaluru tragedy solely to the ‘madness of crowds’ is a lazy cop-out. India’s love for cricket is hardly breaking news. It was the administration’s duty to ensure that fans were safe. The dead deserve accountability. RCB’s victory should have been remembered for breaking a long drought. Instead, it will be etched in memory for the blood on the barricades. In Bengaluru, cricket’s highest high turned into its darkest low.