"Saw People Dying, Crying For Water": Witness Recalls Bengaluru Horror

He was there at RCB's victory celebrations near the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday but narrowly escaped injuries after he realised that the crowd was swelling to an unmanageable size and decided to leave the area.  Minutes later, his pulse quickened when he got a message from his family that his son, in his early twenties, was also in the same spot and could not be contacted. 

"I was very nervous. When I tried to contact him, I could not get any network, possibly because of the large crowd. Thankfully, I got a message from him saying he was at the front of the crowd and describing the atmosphere as beautiful," the witness to the stampede, in which 11 people - including a 14-year-old girl were killed - told NDTV.

"I was already home by then. I did not know he was there. I scolded him over texts and asked him to get out immediately. About 20 minutes later, he managed to get out of the area and called his sister, who was also worried. She asked him to make a video call to prove he was okay, and only then did we breathe a sigh of relief," he recalled. 

Recounting the situation, the man, who requested not to be identified, said too many people were packed into a small area and there was no space to move. 

"I saw people were dying. There was no water, people were crying for water...There were no arrangements for first aid or ambulances. When the Chief Minister knew so many people would turn up, why weren't there proper security arrangements? I don't blame the police, in fact, I salute them. They managed the situation well, otherwise the deaths could have crossed 100," he said. 

Another Bengaluru resident pointed out that similar celebrations had taken place in Mumbai last year after India won the T20 World Cup, but they were much better managed.  

"The magisterial inquiry is just an eyewash. Political parties know how to handle crowds, they organise big rallies. How could the arrangements have been so bad for this celebration? People were happy that RCB had won the IPL after 18 years, but the joy has now been turned to tears," he said. 

The police have arrested four people in connection with the stampede and five police officers, including the Bengaluru police commissioner, have been suspended. On Friday, the Karnataka government also sacked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's Political Secretary K Govindaraj and the state intelligence department chief.

While the Congress-led government has said it is doing everything possible to help the families of the victims and fix accountability, the opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) have accused it of scapegoating the police officials.