India's Karnataka state blames star cricketer Kohli, IPL team for deadly stampede

Authorities in India’s Karnataka state have blamed the management of India's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket team for last month's deadly stampede during celebrations for their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title.

The state government, in a status report filed in court, stated that a video featuring Virat Kohli and posts across RCB’s platforms invited fans to join a “Victory Parade.”

Eleven fans were crushed to death, and more than 50 were wounded on June 4 in a stampede near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after hundreds of thousands packed the streets in the southern city of Bengaluru on June 4 to welcome star cricketer Virat Kohli and his RCB cricket team.

Karnataka state authorities singled out the RCB, its partners, and the state cricket association for their mismanagement of the event in a report made public on Thursday.

It said organisers had not submitted a "formal request" or provided enough detail for permission to be granted for the celebrations.

"Consequently, the permission was not granted," it said.

The team went ahead with its victory parade despite police rejecting RCB's request, according to the report.

Roadshows

The state government also said that it did not stop the RCB’s victory celebrations, as abruptly stopping the celebrations could have potentially incited violence among the gathered crowd.

AFP has been unable to contact RCB for comment.

Four people, including a senior executive at RCB and representatives of event organisers DNA and the Karnataka State Cricket Association, were detained by police in the days following the stampede.

Players were parading the trophy near the stadium a day after their win over Punjab Kings in the final in Ahmedabad when the stampede occurred.

The dead were aged between 14 and 29.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "absolutely heartrending," and Kohli, who top-scored in the final, was "at a loss for words" after it unfolded.

India coach Gautam Gambhir said he was never a fan of roadshows, and the authorities should not have allowed the mass celebrations if they weren't prepared.

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Source: TRT