Gargi Raut in Bengaluru
Today was supposed to be a day of celebration. It was supposed to be a day where the people of Bengaluru came together in unity to enjoy the fruits of 18 years of hard work. But instead, as the evening turned to night, celebrations turned into chaos.
To go through the timeline of the day, RCB had on Tuesday night announced on their official pages that there would be an open bus parade to celebrate the team, starting at 5pm from Vidhana Soudha and going on till the Chinnaswamy Stadium. There was a back and forth between the franchise and the police. Police were concerned about the safety of the fans, keeping in mind the sheer volume of people that show up for an RCB game – let alone a celebration of a first title win in 18 years. Police had cited logistical issues, and there was a brief period where the parade was understood to be cancelled. Until RCB’s official page again confirmed that it would indeed take place.
As expected, people showed up in huge numbers and thronged the stadium. To make way for the bus, the crowd was asked to be on the pavement. This left very little space for fans to move around the stadium and get to the entry gates.
As the team bus got closer to the stadium, the moving crowd came to a standstill owing to the gates of the stadium still being closed. People were standing neck to neck as it started to rain. Some climbed up the barricades, fences and even trees to find relief. Yet the gates remained closed despite fans urging security personnel to open them.
As the bus reached the main entrance – between chants, cheers and fans getting excited – a stampede-like situation erupted. To find relief, people tried to jump over the barricades and towards the team bus lane, but fearing a safety issue, the police pushed them back. As soon as the bus went in, fans realised that they had to take matters into their own hands to save their lives. They climbed over the barricades, with people helping each other and pulling one another over the barrier. The police too quickly pulled down the barricades, and the crowd rushed into the open area where they finally had space to breathe.
The question here is that if the police had raised a legitimate security concern, should it have been taken note of? Should the victory parade have been cancelled? After all, the “parade” was done in RCB’s regular team bus, that is covered top to bottom. What was all of it for? Was it worth risking lives for a glimpse of a bus