Atleast 11 people, including kids died, several others injured in stampede outside venue.
Senior police officers have stated that they cautioned against having the celebrations at short notice, according to a Deccan Herald story. However, their recommendation to delay the festivities by a week was disregarded.
“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” a senior police officer told Deccan Herald.
According to the officer, the original plan was to march from Vidhana Soudha to Balekundri Circle, then to Cubbon Road, MG Road, and Chinnaswamy Stadium, which is close to Queens Circle. However, the RCB and the state government ignored the police's suggestion.
“We told them not to take out any procession, but to hold it in one place in an organised manner. Bring the players to the stadium and finish it there. Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow.
Naturally, the government would want to take mileage out of it. If the government had refused, that would have led to another kind of chaos,” he further added.
Meanwhile, another officer revealed, “On Tuesday, till 5.30 am, all our staff — from the police commissioner to constables — were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen.”
According to the Deccan Herald story, the KSCA was giving away free tickets close to the stadium gates, and more than two lakh people gathered there in an attempt to gain entry. Tragic events occurred in Vidhana Soudha even before the ceremony started, as things quickly spiraled out of control.