BENGALURU: The June 4 stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left several police personnel injured, has shaken up Karnataka. There is a call by senior officers and civic leaders to train police and citizens in the skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Throwing light on the toll law enforcement officers paid during the stampede, ADGP KV Sharath Chandra said, “Our men and women in uniform need to be trained not just in riot control but in reviving a life. CPR is useful for both police and people.”
Now, with heart attacks increasing among people in their 20s and 30s, CPR literacy has become essential.
Rotary Bangalore Northwest has pledged to organize CPR training and health checkups for frontline police, especially armed and civil forces deployed on high-stress bandobast duty. Former police commissioner Bhaskar Rao, advising the public to step up during medical emergencies, said, “Every second counts. You don’t need a uniform to save a life, just training and courage.”
Lakshmi Achuta, president of Rotary Bangalore Northwest and Principal Strategic Adviser, Biotech, at Biocon, said it is not enough to train only the police. “Imagine how many lives could have been saved at the KSCA stampede if more people in the crowd knew CPR. It is about empowering everyone with a life-saving skill.”
The movement has also gone global. Rajiv Thalla, based in the United States, has turned a personal heartbreak into a mission. After losing his 23-year-old son Rohan Rajiv to a sudden heart attack, he has taken it on himself to hold free CPR demonstrations, to ensure others don’t suffer the same fate. He travels across cities, from Los Angeles to Lucknow, distributing educational material, and partnering with Rotary.
His younger son, a doctor, stands by him. “This isn’t just about first aid, but first response. A few minutes can mean the difference between life and death. CPR gives you those minutes.”