What was meant to be a night of celebration turned into chaos outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. As crowds gathered to mark Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL win, a sudden stampede left 11 people dead and 47 injured. In the aftermath, shoes, jerseys, and fan gear were left scattered across the ground — silent reminders of the panic that unfolded.
Among the victims was Manoj Kumar, an 18-year-old first-year college student and son of a pani puri vendor from north Bengaluru. His father, Devaraj N T, emotionally recounted how he had encouraged Manoj to pursue education instead of working at the family stall. “I did not allow him to clean the plates at my pani puri shop because I wanted him to go to college. I brought him up with a lot of care. Now, he is gone,” said Devaraj, waiting to identify his son’s body at Bowring Hospital, according to India Express
Manoj had insisted on attending the victory celebrations with three friends from his neighborhood. The friends lost him in the overwhelming crowd and only learned of his death from Mohammed Hussain, a 24-year-old eyewitness and MBA student who helped take Manoj to the hospital. Hussain described the chaos outside Gate Number 20, where over an hour of waiting turned restless before the gate was partially opened to check tickets. The crowd surged forward, pushing through a weak security presence of just three policemen and a few stadium guards, triggering a deadly stampede.
“Once the gate fell open, everyone tried to enter simultaneously, causing people to fall and be trampled. One man’s leg got stuck in a police barricade, and some 500 people trampled over him,” Hussain said. It took hours and police assistance to remove the bodies and transport them to hospitals.
The stampede was not confined to a single gate; similar chaos erupted at Gate 14 and Gate 3, with ambulances unable to reach victims due to heavy crowding. Among the dead were young students, professionals, and cricket fans, including a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Divyanshi, and a 22-year-old engineering student, Prajwal G.
Families gathered at Bowring and Vydehi hospitals in anguish, many blaming poor security and lack of emergency response. Divyanshi’s aunt expressed frustration: “There was no police presence, no help for those injured. We put her in a car and rushed to the hospital ourselves.”
The victims have been identified as Poorna Chandra (26), Divyanshi (13), Prajwal (20), Chinmayi Shetty (19), Shiva Linga Swamy, Bhoomik (20), Sahana (19), Shravan (20), Devi (29), Manoj Kumar, and Akshata (27).
Poorna Chandra, 26, a civil engineer from Rajasamudra in Mandya district, was employed at a private firm in Mysuru. He had travelled to the stadium to join fellow RCB fans at the much-anticipated event when he was caught in the deadly rush.
Divyanshi, a 13-year-old from Andhra Pradesh, had come all the way to Bengaluru hoping to catch a glimpse of her cricket idol, Virat Kohli. Sadly, she died near the entrance due to suffocation and a head injury. Her body is being transported back to her hometown for final rites.
Prajwal, 20, a resident of Chintamani, had told his family he was travelling to Bengaluru for a job interview. Instead, he went to attend the RCB event and was among the victims who lost their lives in the stampede.
Chinmayi Shetty, 19, a first-year engineering student and a trained Yakshagana and Bharatanatyam dancer, had little interest in cricket. But at her friends’ insistence, she joined them at Vidhana Soudha and later accompanied them to the stadium — a decision that tragically ended her life.
Shiva Linga Swamy, a teenager from Yadgir district, was living in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. Having just cleared his Class 10 exams, he told his family he was heading to school to collect his Transfer Certificate. Instead, he went to the stadium for the celebrations and became one of the casualties.
Bhumik, a 19-year-old first-year engineering student, had joined a large group of friends to witness the RCB victory celebrations. According to The New Indian Express, he got separated in the surging crowd. When his friends found him, he had collapsed. Despite their attempts to perform CPR and locate emergency services, no ambulances were available nearby. “Even the police didn’t know what to do,” one of his friends said. Bhumik was eventually transported to Vydehi Hospital in a police jeep, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Sahana, 21, a software developer from Kolar, had taken a day off work to attend the event with her colleagues. During the chaos, she was pushed to the ground and separated from her group. Later, Cubbon Park police informed her friends that she had been taken to Vydehi Hospital. For hours, her family had no information. It wasn’t until the evening that her friends were informed she had been brought in dead.
Devi, 29, a Tamil Nadu native working at a private company in Bengaluru, had gone to the stadium alone to be part of the celebrations. She, too, became a victim in the stampede that claimed multiple lives amid the overwhelming crowd.
The celebrations had initially been announced as a free victory parade by RCB on social media. However, due to security concerns, the event was changed to a ticketed gathering inside the stadium, but inadequate planning and crowd control led to the tragedy.
The Karnataka government announced compensation of ₹10 lakh to the victims’ families, while the Karnataka State Cricket Association pledged ₹5 lakh as support. IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said the board was unaware of the celebrations and would investigate the incident. “It is indeed very tragic. We will ensure better coordination and safety measures in future,” he said.
RCB also expressed deep sorrow over the incident and stated they had promptly amended their program following local administration advice once aware of the situation.