The Karnataka government has squarely blamed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the stampede that occurred during its IPL victory celebratory parade outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 which claimed 11 lives and left several others injured.

In its report submitted to the High Court, the government pointed to a series of lapses, including a public video appeal by cricketer Virat Kohli that it said drew an overwhelming crowd despite police denying permission for the event.

According to the submission, the event organiser, DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt Ltd, had merely informed the police of a planned victory parade on June 3 but had not sought formal permission, which is mandatory under a 2009 city order. Based on this, the police explicitly refused to allow the event.

However, RCB went ahead with promotional activity. On June 4, RCB issued open public invitations on social media platforms. One such post included a video featuring Kohli inviting fans to attend the free-entry celebration. The government said this contributed significantly to the massive turnout of over three lakh people, far exceeding what the organisers or police were prepared for.

The confusion intensified on the day of the event, when at 3.14 pm, organisers abruptly announced that passes would be required for entry into the stadium. This last-minute change contradicted the earlier open-entry announcements and sparked panic among the crowd.

The report said RCB, DNA, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) failed to coordinate effectively. Poor planning at the entry gates and delays in opening them led to disorder, resulting in a stampede-like situation in which seven police personnel were injured.

To prevent further escalation, the police allowed a scaled-down version of the celebration under controlled conditions.