Franchise rejected the idea, went ahead with the initial plan.
Bengaluru: What was meant to be a joyous celebration of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) historic Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 title win turned into a tragedy on Wednesday, as a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed at least 11 lives. The chaos that erupted during the victory parade has now led to serious questions about the planning and timing of the event, especially in light of police warnings that were reportedly ignored.
According to a report by Deccan Herald, Bengaluru police had advised RCB and state authorities to defer any celebrations until Sunday, citing high public emotions and the risk of crowd mismanagement. The police had proposed a more controlled, single-location event instead of a moving open-bus parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“We warned both the government and the franchise against holding the celebrations on Wednesday,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying. “Our recommendation was to wait until Sunday, when the situation would be more manageable. But our advice was not heeded.”
The RCB management, however, pushed back against the proposal. Their main concern was the departure of overseas players, many of whom had international commitments and would be unavailable later in the week. “Their argument was that the foreign players were leaving either today or tomorrow,” said the officer.
The IPL 2025 season itself had already faced delays due to the Indo-Pak conflict, and franchise sources reportedly felt that further postponement would make a meaningful celebration impossible. Left with limited options, they went ahead with the original plan.
Authorities said the government was also reluctant to cancel or delay the event, fearing backlash from fans and political fallout. “Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of such a moment. But if they had outright refused permission, it might have caused a different kind of unrest,” said the official.
As news of the victory parade broke, thousands of fans gathered outside the stadium from early morning, overwhelming the area. Despite multiple alerts and warnings posted by Bengaluru Police and traffic departments on social media urging fans to remain calm and avoid overcrowding, the situation spiraled out of control.
“From Tuesday night until 5:30 am Wednesday, our entire force—from the commissioner to constables—was on the ground. It was complete madness. We’ve never seen this level of frenzy before,” the official added.
The tragedy has sparked criticism of both the RCB franchise and the state government for proceeding with the celebrations despite clear warnings. As families mourn the lives lost, the spotlight is now firmly on accountability and the urgent need for better crowd control protocols during mass public events.
