"What Was RCB Manager's Fault?" Mohandas Pai On Arrests Over Stampede

The suspension of former Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and the arrest of four people in connection with the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede have sent the wrong message and "demoralised" the entire state's police top brass, Aarin Capital Chairman Mohandas Pai said on Friday. 

The former Infosys Chief Financial Officer also said the registration of a "kangaroo" First Information Report (FIR) and action against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) without an in depth inquiry is "premature" and appears to be an attempt to deviate from key questions pertaining to the stampede. 

He made the remarks during an exclusive chat with NDTV on the incident that killed 11 people and injured more than 50 people on Wednesday. The stampede outside the stadium took place when a large number of people thronged to participate in the celebrations for the RCB's first-ever victory in the Indian Premier League. 

"The government has sent the wrong message by suspending the commissioner of police. Take action against the local cops. These issues are handled by people down the line," he said. 

"Can you blame the lower-level police who were responsible for the area, yes, of course. Can you blame the police commissioner? I don't think so. You are demoralising the entire top police command," he added. 

"We Are Devastated But Have To Be Reasonable"

Mr Pai also slammed the arrests made in the case. "The arrest is premature and wrong. Arresting all these people sends the wrong message. What has the marketing manager of RCB done, except be in RCB?" he said. 

"We have to be reasonable. All of us are devastated. If the inquiry says the RCB is at fault, then file the FIR. This is a Kangaroo FIR," he added.

RCB marketing head Nikhil Sosale was among four people who were arrested earlier in the day. He was on his way to Mumbai when he was arrested from Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, at around 6.30am. 

Sources said Mr Sosale oversees all promotional activities of the RCB and is the main link between the players and the franchise. He also handles the team's social media handles. 

"Not A Natural Crowd"

Mr Pai questioned the police's alleged mismanagement and lack of basic facilities for the crowd. 

"All these things are diverting attention from the real issue. The real issue is how did three lakh people show up? Can the people arrive in 10 minutes? The people would have come four hours before. The police would have estimated. This was not a natural crowd. There is a protocol for managing the crowd. Whenever an accident happens on the highway, will you go arrest the cops?" he said. 

There was no medical aid available at the site of the stampede, he said. "There were no ambulances. We saw people carrying the victims. Where were the ambulances? Where was the first aid treatment? Lives could have been saved.

"Virat Kohli, Team Should Have Shown Concern"

The Aarin Capital Chairman, however, said RCB's "behaviour wasn't good". "Virat Kohli and the players should have come together, instead of saying we will pay a part of the bonus, etc. Kohli has been a captain for many years. He and his team have sent a message that we do not care for the fans," he said. 

"The RCB owners should have shown some concern. But legally, you cannot blame Kohli and his team. They aren't responsible," he added.

The RCB has announced a financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of the 11 victims. Mr Kohli, in a post on Instagram, said he was left "gutted" by what transpired outside the stadium. 

Bid To Politicise Stampede?

Mr Pai also sought to know if it was a concerted move to politicise the stampede. Asked if there is a blame-game within the Congress, he said: "Well, I think it could be there. The Opposition is trying to do that. The government is fighting that. How did three lakh people come? Who mobilised them? You must ask people on the ground, who called them,were they carrying any political banners, etc?"

He also asked how did the crowd manage to enter the Vidhan Soudha, where separate celebrations were held. "How did they come in such a short period of time? How did they go inside the Vidhan Soudha? An ordinary person cannot. Who took them there," he said.

On Thursday, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor termed the stampede "tragic" and said "we will have to develop different approaches to control and management." 

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy, D K Shivakumar over the stampede.