India Sports

Victory turned tragedy – RCB victory parade took a tragic turn causing a stampede

On 4 June 2025, a stampede broke out outside the M. Chinnaswamy stadium resulting in the death of 11 people and injuries to over 50 others. The incident took place when thousands of fans gathered outside the stadium to celebrate the 18 year long awaited victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), won the 2025 Indian Premier League final on 3 June, defeating Punjab Kings.

11 fans dead, 50 injured—poor planning, overcrowding, and limited access points turn a victory parade into a public safety disaster.

On the morning of 4 June 2025 RCB announced a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, scheduled for 5:00 PM, later that afternoon, thousands of fans gathered along the parade route and outside the stadium causing overcrowding. Ater around 4:51pm, a stampede occurred near gate no. 7 of the stadium as fans attempted to enter through a single gate, leading to multiple casualties and chaos.

The contributing factors of this incident was said to be overcrowding of people, lack of planning, limited access points, and suspended Metro services. An estimated 200,000 people gathered, significantly exceeding the capacity of the stadium of approximately 35,000. The parade was announced only hours in advance leading to improper preparation and coordination among the authorities.

Among the deceased were a woman and a child. Many of the injured were taken to local hospitals. The RCB franchise expressed deep sorrow and announced financial assistance of ₹10 lakh to the families of the deceased. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia criticized the event’s organizers for poor planning and emphasized the need for better crowd management in future events.

The Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Actor Kamal Haasan and cricketer Virat Kohli expressed their condolences to the victims’ families. Moreover, a long-awaited victory celebration took a tragic turn for the families of the fans who died in the stampede.