Bengaluru Stampede: KSCA secretary, treasurer resign citing 'moral responsibility' for 11 deaths during RCB victory parade

The secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) stepped down from their positions on Thursday, taking moral responsibility for the tragic stampede outside the Bengaluru stadium that resulted in the deaths of 11 people during RCB's IPL trophy celebrations.

In a joint statement, former secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam mentioned that they submitted their resignations to the KSCA president on Thursday night, as reported by news agency PTI.

Their statement expressed, “...due to the unforeseen and unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last two days, and though our role was very limited, we wish to state that we have tendered our resignation to our respective posts as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association.”

A stampede broke out on Wednesday evening outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where a huge crowd had gathered to celebrate the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team's victory in the IPL.

The Bengaluru Police took action on Thursday by filing an FIR against the RCB franchise, DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., an event management company, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for serious charges, including “culpable homicide” and “illegal assembly.”

On Friday, a Sessions Court in Bengaluru ordered that four individuals, including senior RCB official Nikhil Sosale and three event managers, be held in judicial custody for 14 days in connection with the tragic stampede.

In a related development, the Karnataka High Court provided interim relief to the office bearers of the KSCA, who had sought to have the FIR against them dismissed. This came after the stampede resulted in the loss of 11 lives.

KSCA president Raghuram Bhat, secretary Shankar, and treasurer Jayaram had previously argued in the Karnataka High Court that managing the gates and crowd was not their responsibility, and they had requested permission to hold the RCB IPL celebrations at Vidhan Soudha.

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