Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a magisterial inquiry.
Expressing grief over the deaths of 11 people in a stampede in Bengaluru during a celebration of the RCB's victory in the IPL, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the tragedy "heartrending" and said his thoughts are with the families of the victims.
"The mishap in Bengaluru is absolutely heartrending. In this tragic hour, my thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those who are injured have a speedy recovery: PM @narendramodi," the Prime Minister's office posted on X.
A stampede occurred outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium as thousands of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of players from the Royal Challengers Bangalore, which won the Indian Premier League after 18 long years. At least 11 people died and over 30 were injured in the stampedes.
The BJP has accused the Congress government in the state of seeking publicity and not making adequate arrangements for the celebration.
"It's heartbreaking to see such loss because of poor planning and crowd mismanagement. The state government in Karnataka has clearly failed in its responsibility. Celebrations are one thing, but the State government without proper planning, without taking emergency services into confidence, took this urgent and unfortunate decision. This could have been avoided (sic)," senior BJP leader and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi wrote on X.
"The government is responsible for this and accountability needs to be fixed," he added.
Asked about the BJP's allegations, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar dismissed them, saying, "They are there to allege, we are here to protect. I am going to the hospital now."
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed grief over the incident and said nobody expected such a large crowd. "The capacity of the stadium is only 35,000, but two to three lakh thousand people turned up for the celebration. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry," he said.
