In the wake of the tragic stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory celebrations, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has revealed that the team halted their programme almost immediately upon learning of the incident. The stampede near Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium resulted in the deaths of 11 people and left 33 others injured, casting a shadow over the city’s celebrations.

Speaking to the media, Shivakumar said, “The team has extended their condolences… I went to the team immediately and gave them direction that this programme should be stopped within 10 minutes… the team agreed and within 5 minutes, they stopped the programme… we sent a lot of Police teams with them since we didn’t want any incident to happen…”

He further announced that in light of the tragedy, all official programmes scheduled for the following day, except the cabinet meeting, have been postponed. “No celebrations, including the World Environment Day,” he added.

Addressing concerns about crowd control, Shivakumar acknowledged the unforeseen scale of the gathering. “We never expected such an incident to happen. No political party or officials wanted this, they did their best, but there was an uncontrollable crowd.”

He also praised the police for their proactive measures to prevent further incidents. “Again I’m telling on record. I should compliment my Police officers… morning also, they wanted to have a procession, they wanted to bring a vehicle from the airport itself. Police guided us not to, that’s why I rushed to the airport and ensured nothing went wrong. In Vidhana Soudha, also we were very cautious.”

The celebrations for the RCB’s first-ever IPL win turned tragic on Wednesday as at least 11 persons died and more than 30 were injured in a stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday after thousands of RCB fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the team.

“11 are dead and 33 injured due to stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru…More than 2-3 lakh people came, and no one expected this much crowd,” Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said at a press conference.

He also said that the stadium could only accommodate 35 thousand spectators. The chief minister announced a magisterial inquiry into the incident and a ₹10 lakh compensation to the kin of the deceased.

The stampede took place when thousands of fans attempted to enter the stadium from various gates. Police had a tough time controlling the crowd, triggering chaos and turning a joyful event into a tragedy.