Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India] Aug 23 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, on Friday, said that he attended the event at Chinnaswamy Stadium on the request of the Police Commissioner.
Following the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory, a stampede occurred during the celebration ceremony on June 4, which led to the death of 11 people and left several injured.
"The Police Commissioner appealed to me to direct RCB management to end the programme at the Chinnaswamy stadium in 10 minutes. Hence, I went to the stadium and directed the RCB management accordingly," he said.
During a discussion in the Legislative Assembly on the Chinnaswamy stadium stampede, the Leader of the Opposition questioned why the DCM attended the stadium event despite the government not having given permission.
Replying to the question, the DCM clarified, "The KSCA President and Secretary were feeling helpless as they could not go to the stadium after the event at Vidhana Soudha. The Police Commissioner appealed to me to ensure that the stadium event ended in 10 minutes. It is true that I went to the stadium and congratulated the RCB players. But I also gave them instructions to close the programme in 10 minutes. I have told the same to the Cunha committee. I went to the stadium due to appeal from the police to end the programme quickly."
Meanwhile, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara reiterated that the stampede was very painful and cannot be taken lightly.
Speaking in the Assembly, he extended his condolences and prayed that the grieving families get the strength to bear the pain.
G Parameshwara said, "Such an incident has never happened in the sporting history of Karnataka. The entire country witnessed what took place at Chinnaswamy Stadium. Eleven people lost their lives due to the stampede. This is a very painful matter. Society cannot take this lightly. On the very first day itself, we expressed condolences to the families of the eleven who died. Even now, we extend our condolences and pray that the grieving families get the strength to bear this pain. Perhaps our prayers will not bring back those who died, but they may give some courage to the families, and for that, we have prayed to God."