Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar broke down on camera while addressing the media over the tragic death of 11 individuals in the Bengaluru stampede. “I am worried about the children, those small children, I saw they were 15 years old. I’ve seen with my eyes at least 10 people who passed away. No family can digest this loss,” a visibly emotional Shivakumar said on Thursday.
There has been severe backlash and growing public anger over Karnataka government’s alleged negligence and mismanagement that led to the stampede. When asked about it earlier, Shivakumar had initially told India Today that he had no confirmation of the incident and would visit the stadium to get an update.
#WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka DCM DK Shivakumar breaks down as he comes out to address the media for the first time after the #BengaluruStampede. pic.twitter.com/1GDMZOBAm4
— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2025
Later in the evening, he stated that the celebration event at Chinnaswamy Stadium was quickly wrapped up within 10–15 minutes out of respect for the tragedy. However, photos of a smiling Shivakumar holding the IPL trophy and posing with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) players began circulating online, drawing criticism and accusations of apathy.
Recounting the events, Shivakumar spoke about the urgency conveyed to him by officials.
“The Police Commissioner told me to wrap the event in 10 minutes. I rushed the event. He told me that 1-2 lives have lost (their lives), rush the event, finish the event in 10 minutes,” he said.
Limited access and crowd management
Describing the scene at the stadium, he said, “Me and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) management couldn’t reach there, I had to take them in my car. I was not interested in going to KSCA. I took the president, secretary in my car. We didn’t let them make any announcements. We finished everything quickly and KSCA also agreed.”
Shivakumar responded to criticism from the BJP, accusing the opposition of politicising the tragedy.
“We must learn an administrative lesson, let the opposition do politics on dead bodies. I will list how many dead bodies they have done politics on. But it hurts to see the little children. I have seen their pain.”
Earlier in the day, he offered a public apology. “No, I don’t want to explain. But we are very sorry about the incident. We all will work out for a better solution in future,” he said.
He further added, “They’re doing politics. They’re doing politics on the deathbed. They only said that. They wanted the procession. This has happened without the procession. If the procession happened, what would have been the situation?”
Unexpected chaos
He admitted that the authorities had grossly underestimated the crowd turnout. “We thought some 30,000 to 40,000 would appear but over 3 lakh were there. And on the streets from the airport, I think there was a massive crowd.”
Calling the scene “unbelievable,” he described how the gates were broken and reiterated the administration’s regret. “We fully apologise for this. We wanted to know the facts and give a clear message. We will do it.”
The stampede occurred on Wednesday during a public celebration held to honour the Royal Challengers Bengaluru team after their maiden Indian Premier League title win.