Bengaluru stampede: HC slams Karnataka govt; poses 9 questions

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (June 10) asked the state government some serious questions about how it handled the RCB victory celebrations and what happened thereafter while sharply criticising it and questioning procedural lapses.

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The High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru a day after the incident on June 5. The court had issued notice to the Karnataka government to determine what led to the tragedy and what steps can be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.

Nine key questions

On Tuesday, the court asked the Advocate General (AG), representing the state government, nine key questions:

1. Who decided to conduct the victory celebrations? How and when?

2. Did anyone seek permission to conduct the event?

3. Was any assessment made of the potential crowd that could assemble?

4. Were steps taken to regulate traffic?

5. What steps were taken to regulate the crowd?

6. What medical and other facilities were arranged at the venue?

7. Were injured persons given immediate medical attention? If not, why?

8. How much time was taken to take the injured to the hospitals?

9. Whether any SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) has been formulated to manage a crowd of 50,000 and above in any sporting event or celebration of this nature?

Also Read: AG will file fact-based reply in HC on stampede case: K'taka Home Minister

The state government sought time from the court to file its answers. It is expected to submit its response in a sealed cover.

The AG told the court that those who were arrested in connection with the stampede are pointing to the discrepancy between the investigating and arresting agencies to challenge the legality of their arrests and to seek relief. Therefore, he said, “in the interest of justice”, further details could not be disclosed in open court.

The AG also informed the court that the investigation had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), but arrests were still being made by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch.