BENGALURU, India, June 6: At least 11 people died and dozens were injured in a crowd crush outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru on Wednesday, as thousands gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win, local authorities said.
The incident occurred as throngs of jubilant fans swarmed the stadium area to welcome the team, which had returned after defeating Punjab Kings in the final of the 18th IPL season — the world’s richest cricket league. With many fans lacking entry passes, chaos erupted at the stadium gates.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the death toll had reached 11 and 47 others were injured in the incident. “At a time of celebration, this unfortunate event should not have happened. We are saddened by this. The fans that showed up were beyond our expectations,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.
Local television channels showed visuals of people climbing trees, fences, and walls to get a glimpse of the players, while others clambered over each other in the packed streets outside the venue. Police said the situation worsened when large crowds without passes attempted to force their way through the stadium gates.
Witnesses reported that police used canes to disperse the crowd, triggering further panic. “At one gate, police began caning people. That just added to the chaos,” said Mithun Singh, a software engineer present at the scene.
The Royal Challengers had issued free passes for the event via their website, with a disclaimer about limited availability. Still, the turnout overwhelmed local authorities, who were reportedly unable to manage the surging crowd.
“The crowd became uncontrollable and there were no proper arrangements to manage them,” said Naseer Ahmed, political secretary to the chief minister, speaking to NDTV. Despite the turmoil, the celebration ceremony inside the stadium continued. Bengaluru Metro halted services near the venue as a safety measure.
India has a history of deadly crowd incidents, particularly at religious festivals. In January, at least 30 people died in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, one of Hinduism’s largest pilgrimages. Wednesday’s incident has raised questions over crowd control and safety preparedness at major public events in the country.
