BENGALURU: Acting on the findings of the Justice John Michael Cunha commission which probed the stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium that resulted in the death of 11 persons on June 4, the Cabinet on Thursday decided to initiate legal action against Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL)/ Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited, the Karnataka State Cricket Association and several government officers as well as two senior police officials.The Cabinet approved the report of Justice Cunha, a retired High Court judge, which was submitted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on July 11. The stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium occurred when a huge crowd gathering made desperate attempts to gain entry into the stadium to watch the felicitation ceremony of RCB players after their victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) a day earlier. The Cunha commission recommended legal action against RCB, DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited and the KSCA. The commission found it necessary to initiate legal action against the vice-president of Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited/RCB, president of KSCA Raghuram Bhat; A. Shankar, then-secretary of KSCA; E.S. Jairam, then-treasurer of KSCA; Dr T. Venkat Vardhan, managing director, and Sunil Mathur, vice-president of DNA Entertainment Works. The Cunha report also recommended action as per law against former police commissioner B. Dayananda; additional commissioner of police, west, Vikash Kumar; DCP, central, Shekar H. Tekkanavar; Cubbon Park ACP C. Balakrishna and inspector A.K. Girish. The state government has placed these officers under suspension on charge of dereliction of duty. The Cunha report said the police officials failed to stop the event knowing fully well that it was “unauthorised” and organised in “haste” without proper security arrangements in place. The stated: “One of the key contributing factors to the stampede was improper and unscientific installation of the barricades and the narrow constricted entry gates at the stadium.” It noted that the deaths mostly occurred at Gates 7, 2/2A, 18 and 20. As per the report, the stampede at the Chinnaswamy stadium is also attributed to “misleading and last minute announcements created widespread confusion among fans and followers.”
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