11 people died, several injured outside Bengaluru stadium in stampede as RCB celebrated inside.
In response to a complaint regarding the stampede that occurred on June 4 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru Police announced on Friday that no First Information Report (FIR) had been filed against cricket player Virat Kohli.
Eleven people were killed and numerous more were injured in the event, which happened during the festivities for Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) inaugural IPL title victory.
Social activist HM Venkatesh brought the complaint to the attention of the Cubbon Park Police Station. Venkatesh said in his statement that Kohli, a well-known player for the RCB squad, was to blame for stirring up the crowd by encouraging what he called "gambling through IPL."
"Not a sport but gambling that has contaminated the game of cricket," he added, referring to the Indian Premier League.
The activist also claimed that the stampede was caused in part by Kohli's ability to attract sizable crowds, especially during the team's winning celebrations.
“Virat Kohli of the Bangalore RCB team is the most prominent among those who participated in such gambling and incited people to gather in a specific place and caused this tragedy. Therefore, we request you to please make Virat Kohli and his team members accused in the FIR of this tragedy and take action," the complaint read as per News18.
However, Bengaluru Police clarified that while the complaint has been received, it will not result in a fresh FIR at this stage.
“The complaint will be examined as part of the ongoing investigation under an already registered case," a senior police official said, adding that the matter remains under detailed review.
On Wednesday evenings, when huge crowds gathered to celebrate RCB's historic IPL victory, a tragic stampede broke out outside the stadium. Overcrowding and a lack of crowd control measures were noted by witnesses.
(ANI report)