Bengaluru (Karnataka), June 6: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly politicising the recent stampede at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which led to the tragic death of 11 people. The incident occurred during a crowd surge at the stadium on June 4.
Responding to BJP allegations that the Congress-led state government was making the police the “scapegoat,” CM Siddaramaiah defended the state’s response. “We have already taken action against those who were visibly responsible and negligent. I don’t indulge in politics; they are the ones doing it,” he said.
The state government suspended several senior police officials, including Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda. Senior IPS officer Seemant Kumar Singh has been appointed as the new commissioner. Other suspended officers include Additional Commissioner Vikash Kumar Vikash, DCP Shekhar HT, ACP Balakrishna, and Inspector Girish AK of Cubbon Park Police Station.
However, BJP Karnataka President BY Vijayendra accused the government of acting only under pressure and called the suspensions politically motivated. He blamed top Congress leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, and Home Minister G. Parameshwara, and demanded a thorough investigation into their roles in the incident.
Meanwhile, FIRs have been filed against the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and members of the KSCA administrative committee in connection with the stampede. In response, the KSCA filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court, seeking the quashing of the FIRs. The petition, filed by KSCA President Raghuram Bhat, Secretary A. Shankar, and Treasurer E.S. Jairam, will be heard today by a bench led by Justice Krishna Kumar.
The incident has sparked a political war of words in the state and raised serious concerns about crowd management, event safety, and administrative responsibility.