“My wife and I recently built a memorial and planted trees in Sahana’s memory on our two-gunta farm near Badavarahalli in Kolar district. Whenever we miss her, we go and stay there for a day or two to feel her presence and console ourselves,” said Suresh Babu, father of 23-year-old Sahana, who along with 10 others, lost her life one year ago in the city’s worst stampede tragedy.

How did celebration of RCB’s historic win in IPL spiral into chaos and crisis? | Explained

Thursday, June 4, marks one year since the tragic stampede near M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during last year’s RCB victory celebrations. The incident claimed 11 lives, with victims aged between 16 and 29. Their families recall it as a dark day and say they never want such an incident to recur. While all have received compensation from the State government, they question whether money can ever restore lost lives and happiness.

On the afternoon of June 4, 2025, thousands of fans gathered after news of the RCB team’s arrival in Bengaluru went viral on social media. However, there was confusion over whether the felicitation would be held at Vidhana Soudha or at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. This led to large crowds thronging the streets, with many climbing the stadium’s walls and gates to catch a glimpse of their favourite players. In the ensuing rush, several people were trampled, injured, and suffocated to death.

Haunted by sorrow

Mr. Suresh cried inconsolably as he said, “Going by the Hindu panchanga, we observed our daughter’s death anniversary on May 24 and served food to 800 people. I was supposed to do this for her wedding, but fate had other plans. We are living only for our younger daughter, Chandana, who is in II PU. Sahana supported her sister’s education and never allowed us to spend a single penny. She was passionate about sports from her school days and participated in several tournaments organised at her workplace. This wasn’t the first time she had gone to the stadium. Whenever there was an IPL match, she would buy tickets and go with her friends.”

He added that the family has withdrawn from social life. “We haven’t attended any events or gatherings. We have lost the happiness and peace that Sahana brought into our lives,” he said.

Rewind 2025: Fatal crowd crush

Lakshman D.H., father of Bhoomik — who was 19 years old and studying engineering at a private college in Banashankari when he died in the tragic incident — said, “He was our only son, and we see no purpose in life now. My wife and I haven’t smiled a single day since his death. Bhoomik had gone out with friends to eat shawarma near M.G. Road. After hearing that the RCB team was arriving at the stadium, they went there. What followed was completely unexpected. Yes, we received compensation, but can money, the government, or RCB bring back my son?”

Awaiting justice

Meanwhile, Karunakar Shetty, father of Chinmaya Shetty — who was 19 at the time of her death — said he was still waiting for justice. “All parties involved, including the government, blamed each other. Can someone take responsibility for the deaths of 11 people? That is why I initially refused to record my statement when the police called me during the investigation. Later, my friends convinced me to do so, but I asked them what the point was if the culprits would be let off despite our efforts. Had she been alive, she would now have been in his second year of engineering,” he said.

Shridhar K.T., brother of victim Shravan K.T. who was 20, said, “My brother was a dental student at a private college in Bengaluru. We are originally from Chintamani, and he was the first in our family to attend college. After his death, my mother fell ill and developed tuberculosis. She slipped into depression and stopped taking her medication. It took a long time for us to convince her to live for the sake of the rest of the family. Even now, she remains depressed and has not been able to accept his death.”

11 die in stampede as RCB victory celebrations turn tragic at Bengaluru

What began as a day of rapturous celebration over the IPL victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) turned into one of crushing tragedy in Bengaluru on Wednesday evening when 11 people — all aged below 40 — died and 33 were injured when a massive build up of fans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium led to chaos and stampede.
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The Hindu

After much deliberation, the Karnataka Cabinet recently cleared a proposal to allow big-ticket cricket matches, particularly those of the Indian Premier League (IPL), at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was in front of this venue in the heart of Bengaluru that 11 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans died in a stampede in June 2025. The team’s trophy victory after a 17-year wait had led to a fan frenzy, leading to the tragedy.

Following the incident, the State government, which faced criticism for its alleged failure at crowd control, imposed a blanket ban on all matches at the stadium. It did not even allow the Vijay Hazare trophy without spectators. An expert committee, led by Greater Bengaluru Authority chief M. Maheshwar Rao, had found that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which runs the stadium, had not implemented the safety measures recommended by the John Michael Cunha Commission after the stampede.

Also Read | Amicus curiae expresses concern over holding IPL matches at Chinnaswamy stadium without enforcing SOP

But with former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad taking over as chairperson of the KSCA recently, the focus shifted to reviving cricket at the stadium. The State government has now given conditional approval to hold IPL matches this season, after the KSCA promised that all safety precautions would be implemented in a phased manner. As RCB is the defending champion, the opening match of this season is expected to be held here.

The stampede also prompted a debate on relocating the stadium out of the Central Business District area. There are four major sporting venues in the Central Business District — M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore Golf Club, Bangalore Turf Club, and Kanteerava Indoor Stadium — all within a 2-kilometre radius of the State legislature. Last week, the Cabinet also cleared a proposal to shift racing activity out of the Bangalore Turf Club to Kunigal on the city’s outskirts.

Also Read | Bengaluru stampede: How what was to be a victory celebration ended in a tragedy

The discussions have centred around the judicious use of public land and congestion caused by these venues. Over the last eight months, there have been three proposals by the Bangalore Development Authority, the Karnataka Housing Board, and the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority to build cricket stadiums on the city’s outskirts, though none of these locations are well served by public transport. By contrast, as many have pointed out, Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai), Eden Gardens (Kolkata), M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai) are all located in the centre of these cities. Even M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is set to remain within the city, according to the recent Cabinet decision.

The Cunha Commission recommended not holding “any large crowd events” at the stadium, though it did not clarify whether this includes cricket matches. The stadium, built in 1969, has a seating capacity of 33,000 and did not experience a stampede before the tragedy of June 4, 2025. That episode was caused by an unprecedented situation in which a crowd of over 2.5 lakh gathered around the stadium to join the unticketed RCB victory celebrations. An open-air felicitation of the team on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha by the Chief Minister and an announcement of a victory parade of the team that eventually did not take place contributed to the chaos.

Also Read | Karnataka govt. gives conditional clearance to IPL matches at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

Using the tragedy as a benchmark to ban matches was seen as a knee-jerk reaction aimed at covering up the government’s own culpability. The terms of reference of the Cunha Commission were also set in such a way that the Commission only examined what happened at the stadium and did not take a holistic view of the incident. Though the Bengaluru City Police were blamed and the City Commissioner was suspended in an unprecedented manner, the Chief Minister’s sacking of his political secretary for his alleged role in the day’s preparations was an indirect admission of culpability. But now, as public anger over the mismanagement that led to the stampede has cooled off, the government has allowed KSCA to also resume cricket matches at the stadium.

The RCB, the event managers who were part of the victory celebrations, and the KSCA were all booked in the stampede case. Hearing petitions filed by them challenging the FIR, the High Court of Karnataka restrained the State police from filing a chargesheet in the case without their prior permission. No chargesheet has been filed yet. The five police officers suspended over the stampede have all been reinstated. As life moves on, cricket resumes with another IPL season. The families of the 11 who died in the stampede, however, still await justice.