Tragedy Just days after the devastating stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations, it has emerged that senior police officials had already warned the Karnataka government of the potential risks.

A letter written by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Legislature Security) MN Karibasavana Gowda on June 4, the very day of the incident, clearly flagged crowd and security concerns at the Vidhana Soudha, where the RCB felicitation was held earlier that day.

In the letter addressed to DPAR secretary G Sathyavathi, Gowda stated: “Lakhs of cricket fans are likely to come to Vidhana Soudha. Since there is a shortage of security personnel, making bandobast will be a problem.” He also warned about the lack of CCTV coverage and the sensitivity of the government area.

Despite the warning, the event went ahead — first at the legislature complex and later at the stadium, where the fatal crowd surge occurred.

According to Times of India, Gowda’s note was also shared with the then city police commissioner B Dayananda, who escalated it to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh. Still, the celebrations received official clearance. Dayananda was suspended by the Karnataka Home Department the day after the tragedy for serious lapses in planning and coordination.

Eyebrows were also raised when IAS officer G Sathyavathi, just hours before the incident, asked fans to go to the stadium instead of Vidhana Soudha — an act now seen as misjudged redirection.

The BJP launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led government. Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said, “Everyone knew a massive crowd would gather after RCB's win. Still, no adequate security or traffic measures were in place.”