Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra claims 11 died in RCB celebration stampede, demands judicial probe

Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra on Wednesday claimed that more than 11 people have died in the RCB celebration stampede and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.

According to official sources, at least four people were dead and several others injured in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium as thousands of RCB fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the team after their first-ever IPL win.

Vijayendra accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of pressuring the police and organising celebrations without any preparedness and adequate police deployment.

"First of all, the state government, without any preparedness, should not have organised this today. If you would had seen the world cup match when India won, there was a big celebration in Mumbai also with lot of preparations. When lakhs and lakhs of people celebrated last night in Bengaluru, the state government should have thought before organising a function today itself," he told reporters here.

He alleged that the government went ahead with the celebrations even after senior officials of the police department advised them against organising function near Vidhana Soudha.

"Senior higher officers of the police department had advised the government not to organise any function near Vidhana Soudha, but they pressurised police department and forcefully organised the function. People have pelted stones, slippers. Luckily, no tragedy has taken place near Vidhana Soudha but whereas in Chinnaswamy Stadium..."

Vijayendra also visited one of the city hospitals where victims were rushed for treatment after being injured or falling unconscious during the chaos near the stadium.

"Is it not the responsibility of the state government to be prepared? Were they not aware that lakhs and lakhs of people will come to the celebrations? Without any preparations...I just spoke to victims...there was no ambulance available inside. No police arrangement was there inside the stadium. What nonsense is this," he added.

Claiming that more than 11 people have died in the tragedy, he said, "Few more people are very serious, children are serious..."

Demanding the state government to take up the responsibility for the stampede, he said, "Let the CM decide who has to take up the responsibility, because if I say anything today, it will be politics. I don't want to comment on anything beyond this, but I demand the chief minister to take up this matter seriously and he should refer the matter to a judicial inquiry."

PTI