‘Bengaluru stampede was not anticipated…’ BCCI V-P Rajeev Shukla calls for ‘damage control’ | WATCH

Bengaluru (Karnataka): Hours after a stampede during the victory celebrations for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Bengaluru claimed multiple lives, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President and Congress MP Rajeev Shukla has said that nobody anticipated that such an incident would happen.

Speaking to media persons, Shukla attributed the unforeseen crowd size to the incident, noting, "The crowd was huge, I spoke to the franchise, they also did not think that such a huge crowd would come and this incident happened suddenly. Efforts are being made to provide maximum help to the families of the deceased.”

Shukla said: "This can happen in any state and the ruling party should not be blamed for it. It should not be politicised. If this happens in a BJP-ruled state, we should not blame them."

He further added, "Govt did stop the roadshow in order to avoid stampede or any such situation. But, it was not anticipated that a stampede would happen outside the stadium. Everybody should work together on the damage control".

At least 11 people are dead and several others are injrued in the Bengaluru stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday as thousands of RCB fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the team after their first-ever IPL win.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, that the crowd was uncontrollable. 

According to eyewitnesses, a stampede-like situation emerged as fans crowded the venue of the felicitation. Visuals showed police shifting the injured persons and those who fell unconscious in ambulances to nearby hospitals.

Visuals also showed some of those who were in an unconscious state being administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by those nearby. Police had a tough time in crowd management as a large number of cricket enthusiasts tried to gain entry, at the same time, into the stadium.

Police used mild force to control the crowd and bring the situation under control ahead of a special felicitation at the stadium for the RCB team organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA).

(with inputs from agencies)