Bengaluru: A day after the tragic stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the suspension of Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda along with several other senior police officials.

“It has been decided to immediately suspend the Cubbon Park Police Station Police Inspector (Girish A.K.), along with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of that zone (Balakrishna), the Central Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (H.T. Shekar), the Additional Commissioner of Police who was in charge of stadium security, and the Bengaluru City Police Commissioner (B. Dayananda),” Siddaramaiah stated. All suspensions are effective immediately.

“Prima facie, the irresponsibility and negligence of these officers were evident, leading to the decision to suspend them,” he stated.

In addition, Siddaramaiah ordered the arrest of key representatives from Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), DNA Event Management, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), holding them accountable for their roles in the overcrowding and mismanagement that led to the deadly stampede.

The CM further announced the handing over of the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

To investigate the incident thoroughly, the Chief Minister has constituted a one-man judicial commission headed by Justice Michael Cunha, retired Judge of the Karnataka High Court.

CM Siddaramaiah made the announcement at the emergency press meeting held at the Vidhana Soudha here. 

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday sought a report from the Congress-led Karnataka government on the lapses and other details concerning the stampede incident near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Taking cognisance of the stampede incident, the high court registered a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and sought a report from the state government.

A division bench, headed by acting Chief Justice V. Kameshwar Rao, expressing concern over the tragedy, questioned the government on whether the Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) were followed and if adequate guidelines were framed to handle the situation at the Chinnaswamy Stadium during the victory celebrations.

Earlier, the Karnataka Police had registered Unnatural Death Cases (UDR) regarding the incident involving the deaths of 11 people during the stampede. The Cubbon Park police have registered 11 UDR cases, and no FIR was registered in connection with the development until now. (With Agency Inputs)