KOLKATA: Chaos erupted on Tuesday as mounted police lathi-charged several cricket fans who tried to enter Eden Gardens here to celebrate Kolkata Knight Riders lifting the Indian Premier League trophy and to catch a glimpse of Bollywood icon and franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan.
Though free passes had been distributed for the programme to felicitate the team — which won the seventh edition of the tournament led by Gautam Gambhir — about 70,000 people were allowed inside the venue and around 30,000 ran helter-skelter, broke barricades and tried to enter the venue, which can accommodate about one lakh spectators.
Five persons were injured and could be seen wiping off blood from their faces. Many complained that the police denied them entry though they had valid passes for the event.
Entry was ‘free’, but with complimentary passes from police stations and Cricket Association of Bengal-affiliated clubs.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologised for the chaos and said that in future such events would be held at the Brigade Parade Ground.
It may be noted that there was no such felicitation for the Bengal teams that won the national one-day championship in 2012 and the T20 championship a year earlier.