Bengaluru: A joyous celebration turned into a horrifying tragedy on Wednesday, June 4, when a stampede near the iconic Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru claimed the lives of at least 11 people during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL 2025 victory celebration. All the deceased were under the age of 40, including three teenagers, highlighting the grim toll of the chaos.
Among the victims was 13-year-old Divyanshi, the youngest fan to lose her life in the stampede. Others who died include Shivalinga (17), Chinmayi (19), Bhoomik (20), Prajwal (20), Shravan (20), Sahana (25), Akshata (27), Devi (29), Doresha (32), and Manoj (33), as reported by NDTV.
What was meant to be a moment of historic joy for RCB fans — celebrating the team’s maiden IPL title after defeating Punjab Kings by six runs — quickly spiraled into panic due to alleged mismanagement, overcrowding, and miscommunication between authorities and the team’s organizers.
Initial reports suggest confusion over the victory parade announcement, the issuing of free passes, and a stadium with limited seating played a major role in the incident. The Chinnaswamy Stadium can hold around 35,000 people, but Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that nearly 2 to 3 lakh people had gathered outside and around the venue.
“The match happened the previous evening and this event was organised on Wednesday by the cricket association, so no one had expected that so many people would come. The expectation was the equivalent number of people for the stadium’s capacity or slightly more than that may gather,” Siddaramaiah said, acknowledging the unanticipated surge in crowd.
He further added, “There are small gates. The people entered through the gates. They have broken the gates also, so a stampede has taken place. Nobody had expected so much of a crowd to come. Prima facie looks like that. I’m not saying nothing has happened. The inquiry will bring out facts.”
The sequence of announcements added to the confusion. At 11:56 am on Wednesday, the Bengaluru Traffic Police informed the public that there would be no victory parade — only a felicitation function inside the stadium. However, at 3:14 pm, RCB’s official social media handle posted that a “Victory Parade will be followed by celebrations at the Chinnaswamy stadium. We request all fans to follow guidelines set by police and other authorities so that everyone can enjoy the roadshow peacefully. Free passes (limited entry) available on shop.royalchallengers.com.”
