New Delhi: It's been close to 48 hours since 11 lives were lost and 75 were injured due to the
stampede caused by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) victory parade on June 4, hours after they ended their Indian Premier League title wait. The celebrations in and around the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru turned out to be a big fat mess and many innocent lives were lost due the chaos.
The franchise has copped plenty of criticism but it has come as a surprise that its parent company - Diageo - a British multinational alcoholic company, continues to maintain silence over the matter. There have been a couple of statements by the RCB but not a single word from Diageo yet.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!TimesofIndia.com reached out to the company last night with a very specific set of questions - reaction to the Bengaluru stampede, reason for the company's silence, whether they were satisfied with the arrangements made by the RCB and whether it mars the end of 18-year-long wait for a title - but there has been no response yet. The story will be updated the moment they share a response.
The Bengaluru Police have already swung into action and have arrested RCB's marketing head
Nikhil Sosale earlier on Friday morning. Apart from Sosale, three employees of DNA Entertainment Networks were also arrested. The police, in the FIR, have claimed that they denied RCB the permission to conduct the parade at the Chinnaswamy. Further investigation and rounds of questioning will reveal what actually transpired on June 4.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues to maintain that the event was organised by the RCB and they had no role to play in it. IPL Governing Council Chairman Arun Dhamal has asserted that he alerted the RCB officials when things went out of control outside the cricket ground. Meanwhile, the event inside continued even when chaos prevailed.
During a press conference on June 5, India head coach Gautam Gambhir minced no words on the tragedy in Bengaluru.
Scene outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru where a stampede occurred on June 4.
“I was never a believer that we need to have roadshows. Never. When I was playing, I had the same statement even after winning the 2007 (T20 World Cup)… The lives of people are far more important and I will continue to say that,” Gambhir said ahead of the team’s departure for England.
“What has happened is very tragic. My heart goes out to the families who have lost their loved ones,” he said. “I hope in the future nothing like this happens because I think we all are responsible citizens. We should take care of all this,” Gambhir added.
It now remains to be seen what transpires next because what happened in Bengaluru has not pleased the top brass of the Indian cricket board too.