Siddaramaiah govt suspends police commissioner, his deputy over Bengaluru stampede

The police commissioner and his deputy have been suspended, and the next step will be against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Karnataka State Cricket Association, and their publicist, DNA Entertainment, Siddaramaiah told the media this evening.

Seemanth Kumar Singh will now replace city police chief B Dayananda.

The police officers suspended have been accused of "substantial dereliction of duty".

As per preliminary findings, the KSCA, DNA Networks, and the RCB franchise went ahead with the felicitation ceremony of the winning IPL team despite not having received permission.

They did not provide proper facilities or manage the crowd entry, even after being warned by the police, according to the initial investigation.

The RCB social media account repeatedly posted about free passes at the stadium gates, which encouraged fans to gather, it said.

The police had already deployed maximum available resources, which prevented an even greater tragedy, according to the findings.

Eleven people died and nearly 50 were injured when the crowd outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium swelled and went uncontrollable turning the celebratory mood into a nightmare within moments.

During a press conference last evening, Siddaramaiah, whose government is facing flak for alleged lack of proper arrangement, stated the administration did not expect the tragedy, as the stadium can accommodate 35,000 people.

"But the number of people who turned up is estimated to be two-three lakhs. We assumed there would be as many people as the stadium would accommodate or a bit more, but not as many as had actually turned up," Siddaramaiah had said.

He had announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who were killed in the stampede, and free treatment for the injured.

"I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into this tragedy. Appropriate action will be taken against the guilty. Instructions have been given to submit the investigation report within 15 days," he had said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court took suo moto cognizance of the stampede case.