RCB’s home, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, deemed unsafe for large-scale events by probe panel- Report

A judicial panel looking into the fatal stampede that happened during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) June win celebrations has deemed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, home of the IPL 2025 champions, unsuitable for large-scale events. 

The stadium's infrastructure is unable to securely handle large crowds, particularly given the June 4 event that left 11 people dead and several more injured as a result of overcrowding and inadequate planning, according to Justice John Michael D'Cunha's findings.

The panel's findings that the stadium's layout and design were dangerous for large crowds were accepted by the Karnataka government.  According to the report, there are no roomy or well-organized holding rooms for individuals entering, and all entry and departure gates lead straight onto walkways.

Because there was little security in place, this put attendees and the general public in danger by forcing crowds to line up on public roads and walkways. It also made it simpler for troublemakers to infiltrate the crowd.

The research underlined that when holding major events in the future, venues must adhere to international safety requirements. The state's T20 Maharaja Trophy competition, which begins on August 11, will take place without spectators, despite the stadium hosting high-attentive Women's ODI World Cup matches from September to November 2025.

Along with two former KSCA officials who resigned after the tragedy, the commission also demanded action against several officials, including RCB vice-president Rajesh Menon, DNA Entertainment Networks MD T Venkat Vardhan, VP Sunil Mathur, and KSCA chief Raghuram Bhat.

Due to their involvement in event planning, police officers B. Dayananda, Vikash Kumar, Shekhar H.T., C. Balakrishna, and A.K. Girish—who were relieved of their duties following the incident—were also held accountable.

(ESPNCricinfo report)

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