Skip to content

Four arrested over India cricket stadium crush

Imran Qureshi
BBC Hindi
AFP via Getty Images Family members of a victim who died during the stampede outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium grieve in front of her body at their residence in the Yelahanka locality in Bengaluru on June 5, 2025. Virat Kohli said he was lost for words after celebrations of a dream IPL title turned to tragedy when 11 mainly young cricket fans were crushed to death in Bengaluru. Hundreds of thousands had packed the streets on June 4 to welcome home their hero Kohli and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after they had beaten Punjab Kings a day earlier in a thrilling Indian Premier League final. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Family members mourn a victim of the crush in Bengaluru

Police in India have arrested at least four people in connection with the fatal crowd crush that took place in the southern city of Bengaluru earlier this week.

On Wednesday, 11 people were killed when tens of thousands gathered outside a cricket stadium to celebrate the cricket league Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) historic Indian Premier League (IPL) victory.

Those arrested include personnel of RCB and the event management company which organised the celebrations.

Five senior police officers, including the city's police chief, have been suspended for "negligence and irresponsibility" by the government.

A police official told BBC Hindi that more arrests are expected as the investigation continues.

According to police, the people arrested were responsible for posting about the victory parade - from the state legislature building to the Chinnaswamy Stadium - on RCB's social media handles and website.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that a police complaint had been filed and legal action taken against the franchise, the event management company, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association.

More than 200,000 people reportedly turned up for the parade, although police had anticipated only half that number. The stadium, where the celebrations were held, has a capacity of 32,000 and was overwhelmed long before the team arrived.

The Karnataka High Court has also ordered a status report on the incident.

Separately, India cricket coach Gautam Gambhir has criticised the decision to host the victory parade and said his "heart goes out" to those affected.

"If we are not ready to hold a road show we should not have done that," former India batter and IPL-winning captain Gambhir said.

On Thursday, RCB said they would give 1,000,000 rupees (£9,000) to the families of those killed.

"We need to be responsible. We need to be responsible citizens and responsible in every aspect, because every life matters...You cannot at any point in time lose 11 people. We can be more responsible," Gambhir added.