Bengaluru Police Commissioner suspended after RCB victory parade stampede claims 11 lives
BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Thursday evening suspended Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and four other senior police officials, just hours after the Karnataka High Court registered a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL). The court took cognisance of the stampede that occurred at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, which claimed 11 lives as crowds attempted to enter the venue for celebrations organised by IPL 2025 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).
This marks the first time a Bengaluru Police Commissioner has been suspended.
Following a late-night cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the suspension orders and directed DG & IGP M.A. Saleem to arrest representatives of RCB, event management firm DNA Networks, and the KSCA. The Cubbon Park Police, under whose jurisdiction the stadium falls, had already registered an FIR against the three entities.
The Chief Minister cited “substantial dereliction of duty” in suspending the following officers with immediate effect: B Dayananda (Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City); Vikash Kumar Vikash (Additional Commissioner of Police, West Division); H.T. Shekhar (Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Division); C. Balakrishna (Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cubbon Park); and A.K. Girish (Inspector of Police, Cubbon Park). The suspension order noted the Office of the Commissioner of Police failed to provide a written reply rejecting permission for RCB to hold a victory parade on 4 June.
The government has ordered a judicial inquiry led by retired High Court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha, in addition to a parallel investigation by a Special Investigation Team under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The commission has been given 30 days to submit its report.
Earlier on Thursday, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice C.M. Joshi registered the suo motu PIL. The court acknowledged various communications and emails received regarding the tragedy, as well as submissions made by advocates. It issued notice to the state government and directed it to submit a status report addressing nine specific questions by 10 June, the next date of hearing. The High Court aims to ascertain the causes of the tragedy, determine whether it could have been prevented, and identify measures to avoid similar incidents in future.
Police sources confirmed that an FIR has been registered against RCB (Accused No. 1), DNA Entertainment Private Limited (Accused No. 2), and the Karnataka State Cricket Association Administrative Committee (Accused No. 3) in connection with the stampede, which also left 56 people injured. The complaint was filed by a police inspector, and the case has since been transferred to the CID for investigation.
