Exclusive: Police Tried to Stop RCB’s Victory Parade, But Franchise Refused to Delay

June 5, 2025: The streets of Bengaluru were rocked by tragedy following Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) historic IPL 2025 triumph, as a stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium resulted in the loss of at least 11 lives.

Also Read: Videos of Bengaluru Stampede Emerge: Show Panic, Overcrowding at RCB Event That Killed 11

Fans began gathering as early as morning outside the stadium after news broke of a planned victory celebration on Wednesday evening. Despite multiple warnings and advisories from police and traffic officials urging fans to remain orderly and discouraging an open bus parade, the massive crowd quickly became uncontrollable.

According to reports, the RCB management and Karnataka state officials had been advised against holding celebrations amid heightened emotions. Police officials recommended postponing the victory procession until Sunday to allow things to calm down and suggested a contained, organized event at the stadium itself rather than a parade.

“We tried to discourage the government as well as the RCB franchise from Tuesday night against having any celebrations on Wednesday. We told them it would be ill-advised and recommended holding the event next Sunday when emotions would have cooled down,” a police official said.

However, due to the IPL schedule being pushed back by more than a week owing to the Indo-Pak conflict, and the overseas players needing to leave for international commitments, the franchise insisted on holding the celebrations immediately.

“Their argument was that the players, especially the foreigners, would leave today or tomorrow,” the official explained.

“The government would also want to take mileage out of it. If they had refused, it might have caused further chaos,” he added.

Police forces were stretched to their limits, with officers on the streets from early morning until late night in an exhausting effort to manage the crowd.

“On Tuesday, till 5:30 am, all our staff — from the police commissioner to constables — were on the streets and completely exhausted. It was total madness. This kind of frenzy we have never seen,” the officer said.

The tragic stampede has cast a somber shadow over RCB’s victory, prompting widespread condolences and calls for improved crowd control measures at future sporting events.