Chinnaswamy stampede: Complaint filed against CM Siddaramaiah, Dy CM Shivakumar

Bengaluru: A complaint has been lodged at the Cubbon Park police station regarding the June 4 stampede incident near the Chinnaswamy Stadium here which claimed 11 lives. The incident happened during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s first-ever IPL trophy victory celebration.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has been named as the prime accused responsible for the incident.

The complaint was filed by social activist T.J. Abraham. He has named Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as the 13th accused and Home Minister Parameshwara as the 14th accused.

Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary of DPAR Satyavathi, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) CEO Subendhu Ghosh, Senior Director of Royal Challengers Sports Pvt Ltd Menon Vijayan Rajesh, and Managing Director of DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt Ltd Thimmaiah Venkata Vardhana have also been named as accused.

Former Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda and other senior officers have been named as accused as well.

In his complaint, Abraham urged the police to register an FIR against the accused for causing death by negligence amounting to culpable homicide and for active conspiracy, which led to the tragic stampede and the loss of 11 lives.

Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Thursday, Abraham stated: “My complaint concerns the 11 people who were killed in the stampede. They did not die on June 4 by accident; they were killed in a motivated, orchestrated stampede. The prime accused in the case is Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.”

Displaying Shivakumar’s poster with the RCB logo, Abraham questioned: “Why is the RCB logo present on his poster? Is he a brand ambassador? No. According to our information, he has been in negotiations with RCB. Our sources indicate that he offered Rs 8,600 crore to purchase the RCB team. The deal did not materialise because the RCB management demanded Rs 17,000 crore.”

Abraham further stated that on June 3, even before the final IPL match began, a letter was sent to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cubbon Park division, informing that celebrations would be held the next day. He clarified that it was not a permission request.

On the celebration day, June 4, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar made a media statement from the court premises that he was going to HAL airport to receive the RCB players. Abraham questioned: “Who is Shivakumar? What connection does the Deputy Chief Minister of a state have with cricket players?”

He added: “DNA’s plan was ready for a victory parade within a 2.5-km radius. If an open parade had happened on an open bus, people standing along the roads would have just watched and gone home. But because the event was held in one place, the tragedy occurred.

“But the franchise RCB and the event management company DNA were allegedly instructed by the prime accused, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar — who was already negotiating to buy the RCB franchise — to cancel the 2.5-km victory parade and instead invite everyone to converge at the stadium,” Abraham alleged.

“What replaced the grand open bus victory parade were two felicitation events – first, on the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha, and second, a felicitation at Chinnaswamy Stadium, personally planned by the prime accused Shivakumar,” he added.

Abraham questioned: “What would have happened if the event had been postponed by two days? Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh gave her approval on June 3. Upon this, DPAR Secretary Satyavati sent a letter to DCP Karibasangouda in the evening. Was permission obtained from the Fire Force, PWD, and police?”

He continued, “Initially, seven people died in the stampede. At that time, everyone was smiling and moving around. Our legal battle will continue. This will go to court; we will see what happens there.

“I am in constant contact with other agencies. If police officers claim they have no information, I will explore everything myself. In this state and country, law exists, and I will ensure it is enforced. We may be slow, but we will make sure justice is served,” Abraham said.

IANS