Four arrested over India cricket stadium crush

In the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, a tragic event unfolded during celebrations for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket team’s victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL). On June 4, 2025, tens of thousands of fans gathered outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to welcome their heroes after a thrilling final match against Punjab Kings. The excitement quickly turned to sorrow when a deadly crowd crush occurred, resulting in the deaths of 11 mainly young cricket fans. Family members of the victims were seen mourning deeply, and the cricket star Virat Kohli expressed his heartbreak, saying he was lost for words after what should have been a joyous occasion turned into a tragedy.

Following the incident, police arrested at least four individuals connected to the event, including personnel from RCB and the event management company responsible for organizing the celebrations. The government also suspended five senior police officers, including the city’s police chief, citing negligence and irresponsibility in handling the crowd. Authorities revealed that those arrested had posted information about the victory parade on social media and the team’s website, which may have contributed to the unexpectedly large turnout. The investigation is ongoing, and more arrests are expected as police continue to look into the causes of the disaster.

The scale of the celebration was much larger than anticipated, with over 200,000 people attending the parade, far exceeding the police’s estimate of around 100,000. The stadium itself has a capacity of only 32,000, and it was overwhelmed long before the team arrived. The Karnataka High Court has demanded a status report on the incident to understand what went wrong. Former India cricket captain Gautam Gambhir criticized the decision to hold the victory parade, saying that if organizers were not prepared to manage such a large crowd, the event should not have taken place. RCB has pledged to provide financial support to the families of those who lost their lives, emphasizing the need for responsibility and safety in public events to prevent such tragedies in the future.