STATE RELEASES RULES FOR CROWD MANAGEMENT

Simulations and risk assessment, venue safety audit, coordination with event organisers, deployment of a crowd management plan, and on-ground deployment and access control are among the measures mandated by the Karnataka government in its standard operating procedure (SOP) for crowd management at events and mass gatherings.

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday condemned the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise for unilaterally announcing its IPL 2025 victory parade without police consultation, triggering the June 4 stampede at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left over 50 injured.

In a strongly worded order, the tribunal called the franchise's actions "unilateral" and held that the police had no prior intimation or obligation to facilitate such a massive public event.

Pulling up the Karnataka government for suspending five senior police officers in the wake of the tragedy, the tribunal quashed the suspension of senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, then additional commissioner of police, Bengaluru west.

The tribunal ordered his immediate reinstatement with full back pay, terming the state government's action against him as "mechanical" and unsupported by convincing evidence.

The tribunal, comprising justice BK Shrivastava and administrative member Santosh Mehra, underscored that RCB had announced the parade via Instagram posts between 7am and 3:14pm on June 4, inviting the public and declaring free stadium entry without notifying or seeking consent from the police.

As a result, it said, an unmanageable crowd of approximately 300,000 converged outside a stadium with a capacity of just 35,000.