‘Karnataka Govt Is Looking For Scapegoats For Bengaluru Stampede’
Rajiv Sinha, a Bengaluru-based stock market analyst and cricket buff, says the chief minister and his must be held accountable for the Bengaluru tragedy. His views:
The tragedy after the IPL final, in which scores were seriously injured and around 11 people have died, including a little girl, after a huge crowd collected inside and outside the stadium, is really heartbreaking. It’s also astonishing – this sudden gathering of such a massive crowd.
In Bengaluru, in terms of high profile games, and even in its history of hosting cricket matches in a packed stadium, there is no precedent of such crowds gathering, and that too, even after the match had ended. Besides, the stadium has a capacity of around 30 to 35 lakh, and only a limited number of seats were available. More so, the police was deployed in adequate number and the state government was aware of the huge interest this match had generated in Bengaluru and elsewhere.
I presume the massive crowd and the mass frenzy occurred due to the fact that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have not been able to lift the IPL trophy for a long period of 17 years. Besides, with his huge fan-following, it also seemed like a happy send off to RCB mascot and former Indian cricket captain, Virat Kohli, although, he has only retired from Test cricket. Significantly, he has never ever moved to another team, and stayed loyal to RCB. Cricket fans here, perhaps, appreciated this fact and identified with him.
Meanwhile, the state government has suspended the police commissioner. There is no doubt that suspending the police commissioner for the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede is nothing but trying to find an easy scapegoat. It was too transparent that the Congress-led Karnataka government wanted to hog the limelight and partake in this glory, though they had no contribution in RCB’s victory.
Besides, reportedly, they had made an open invitation knowing very well that lakhs of fans would turn up. Clearly, they did not bother to make the necessary security arrangements, while the crowd swelled outside the stadium, and the tragedy followed, after the match ended in RCB’s victory.
Indeed, if there are two people who must be held accountable for this man-made tragedy, it’s the chief minister and deputy chief minister of Karnataka. And not the franchise or the cricketers.
As told to Amit Sengupta
