Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly R Ashok has demanded immediate intervention from the National Human Rights Commission regarding the stampede incident near the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader urged the Commission to take immediate cognizance of the incident and start a comprehensive investigation into the roles and responsibilities of all government officials, agencies and private institutions involved in organizing the program.
In his letter to the Commission Chairman, Ashok said that the stampede near the stadium during the ceremony held on June 4 to celebrate the ‘Royal Challengers Bangalore’ victory in the IPL was “stampede” was “harassed incident of human rights violations” due to which 11 innocent people lost their lives and 75 were injured.
He said in his letter written on June 11, “This is not just an unfortunate accident, it is clear from the statements of eyewitnesses and preliminary investigation that it seems to be a direct result of gross negligence, mismanagement and gross neglect of public safety of the state government and concerned officials.”
Ashok exposed several serious flaws, including lack of crowd control, lapse from the state government and the organizers, and inadequate police deployment, which he claimed that the incident occurred. He said, “A huge crowd of millions was seen in an area of about 35,000 capacity (stadium), which was allegedly due to misleading announcements about free passes.”
He said, “Although an FIR has been lodged and the Commission has been announced, the clear lack of preparation of government agencies is extremely worrying.”
Ashok has urged the Human Rights Commission to ensure accountability and recommend necessary disciplinary or legal action against those found to be negligent.
