RCB fully responsible for stampede, K'taka govt tells high court

The Karnataka government on Wednesday told the high court that IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bore full responsibility for the stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, which left 11 people dead and several others injured.

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU:

Opposing the bail plea of RCB's head of marketing, Nikhil Sosale, who was arrested by the Central Crime Branch on June 6, the state submitted that RCB's last-minute social media posts, including announcements about free passes and open invitations to the team's victory celebration, triggered the massive and unmanageable crowd buildup.

The submissions were made before Justice SR Krishna Kumar, who has reserved orders on Sosale's bail application and is expected to pronounce the verdict on June 12.

Terming the celebration "illegal," the government argued that RCB neither sought the requisite permissions nor implemented necessary safety measures to manage an event that ultimately drew lakhs of people.