Bengaluru: A festive event meant to honour the RCB team took a grim turn at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, as stampede-like scenes unfolded on Wednesday evening, reportedly injuring over 40 people. The chaos, now under public scrutiny, was allegedly triggered by administrative missteps of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which chose to keep all 21 entry gates of the stadium closed until 4:30 PM.

According to preliminary reports from government sources, the late gate opening led to a sudden, unmanageable rush as nearly three lakh people had gathered around the stadium by then—many under the impression that entry would be free.

Earlier in the day, news about a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to Chinnaswamy Stadium had been widely shared by media outlets. KSCA had arranged a ceremonial felicitation at the grand steps of the State Assembly, and in anticipation, approximately 1.5 lakh people had gathered there, while an estimated three lakh assembled near the stadium.

The confusion worsened due to the lack of official updates. Fans, many of whom were unaware that entry tickets were being distributed via a private app called “Ticket Genie”, assumed that public access was open and began making their way toward the stadium en masse.

When KSCA finally opened around 8 to 10 gates shortly after 4:30 PM, a surge of waiting fans rushed toward the entry points. At Gate 12, a drain slab on the pavement collapsed under pressure, causing dozens to fall. This triggered a wave of panic. The crowd began spilling toward other gates, leading to more pushing and trampling. Women and children were particularly vulnerable during the crush.

Eyewitnesses and observers say the situation spiralled because only selected gates were opened without prior warning or queue management. The sudden move caused simultaneous surges at multiple points. Police, overwhelmed and under-equipped, found themselves unable to distinguish between ticket holders and general crowds.

A senior police officer, speaking anonymously, said, “Had the entry been regulated from 1 PM with only ticket holders allowed inside in a queue system, this chaos could have been avoided.” On regular match days, crowds of up to 50,000 are safely managed through such systems. However, for this celebration, none of those protocols were followed.

Another key failure was inadequate deployment of police and crowd control personnel. The 1.5 km stretch between Vidhana Soudha and the stadium was flooded with 4–5 lakh people, yet the security detail was insufficient—especially the number of women police officers, which left women and children exposed to serious risk.

The aftermath has sparked public outrage, with questions being raised about the accountability of both KSCA and the Bengaluru city police. With no official apology or explanation issued at the time of reporting, victims and civil society are now demanding answers—and better systems to prevent such human rights lapses in future mass gatherings.