'I came to know about the incident at 5:45 pm' - Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah breaks silence on Bengaluru stampede

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that he became aware of the tragic stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium only at 5:45 PM on June 4. The incident, which occurred during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL victory celebrations, resulted in 11 fatalities and left over 56 people injured.

Siddaramaiah mentioned that the news reached him after the conclusion of the celebrations at Vidhana Soudha. Notably, he did not attend the event at the stadium, which began around 6:10 PM and was attended by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

“I came to know that deaths happened at 5.45 pm. At 3.50 pm, deaths were reported at the hospital, but I came to know about it only at 5.45 pm. Until that point, I was not aware of deaths taking place due to the stampede. I have taken action against whoever has done wrong,” Siddaramaiah said.

Also Read: Karnataka raises compensation for Bengaluru stampede victims' families from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh

His comments came a day after a letter written by Vidhana Soudha security officer M.N. Kariasavana flagged security concerns about holding the event outside the state assembly.

"Lakhs of security personnel are supposed to come to Vidhana Soudha. Since there is shortage of security personnel, making security arrangements will be difficult,” Kariasavana wrote to department of personnel and Administrative Reforms Secretary G Satyavanthi.

“The incident happened near the cricket stadium. I have no connection with that. It should not have happened. Neither the deputy chief minister… (then corrected himself saying), no, neither the home minister, nor I know about it (planning meetings),” he added.

Recently, the Karnataka government increased the compensation for the victims of the stampede from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that no family should suffer further due to financial difficulties.