Tragedy in Indian Cricket Celebration: Stampede Kills 11, Sparks Legal Chaos

In India’s southern city of Bengaluru, a night meant for celebrating a historic cricket victory turned deadly. On June 4, 2025, 11 fans were crushed to death and dozens injured in a stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during festivities for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team’s first-ever Indian Premier League (IPL) title win.

Despite local police explicitly denying permission for the event citing safety risks, organizers—including RCB, stadium operators Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and event managers DNA Entertainment—pushed ahead. Chaos erupted when RCB released free digital entry passes on social media, drawing massive crowds without crowd-control measures.

Police claim this was done "without informing the police or public about how passes would be distributed, causing confusion among the fans gathered outside."

Nikhil Sosale, RCB's Head of Marketing and Revenue, was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport in the early hours of June 6th. Authorities allege he was attempting to flee to Dubai. 

Sosale, now remanded to 14 days' judicial custody, has challenged his arrest before the Karnataka High Court, branding it "illegal, arbitrary, and politically motivated," arguing it occurred "without any materials and even before the police had conducted a preliminary enquiry." His petition contends the arrest is an attempt "to unfairly shift blame onto RCB officials."

Simultaneously, top office-bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) – the body managing the stadium premises – including President Raghuram Bhatt, Vice-President K Sriram, Secretary A Shankar, Treasurer ES Jairam, and Joint Secretary Shahvir Tarapore, secured interim protection from arrest from the same High Court. 

Justice S R Krishna Kumar restrained police from taking any "coercive/precipitative steps" against them until at least June 16th, directing them to cooperate with the investigation and not leave the court's jurisdiction. 

The KSCA's defense is stark: "The incident at the stadium premises was an accident due to a sudden rush and surge... crowd management was the responsibility of RCB and the police." 

Their petition dismisses the FIR as a "knee-jerk reaction" by police succumbing to government pressure, arguing they merely rent the venue and "do not deal with the audience, spectators or fans."

While Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, representing the state, assured the court police had "no immediate plans to arrest anyone," the state government had already suspended senior police officials and appointed a new commissioner. 

Compensation of ₹10 lakh (approximately $12,000 USD) per victim's family, announced jointly by the state government and RCB, offers little solace against the backdrop of preventable death.