Nikhil Sosale, the Marketing and Revenue Head of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), has approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the legality of his arrest in the tragic stampede incident that took place near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The stampede occurred ahead of the team’s IPL victory celebration, which was organised after RCB secured their first-ever IPL trophy win since the league’s inception in 2008.
Sosale was taken into custody by the Bengaluru Police in the early hours of June 6. In his plea before the High Court, he submitted that the arrest was illegal, arbitrary and not in accordance with the law.
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“I was arrested without any preliminary enquiry and without any material evidence against me,” Sosale claimed in his petition, urging the court to declare his arrest unlawful.
The incident, which occurred on June 4, resulted in the death of 11 individuals and injuries to over 30 others. The stampede broke out when a large crowd gathered near the stadium in anticipation of the celebration event, leading to chaos and tragedy.
Taking serious note of the incident, the Karnataka High Court on June 5 took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued a notice to the state government.
“The Court seeks to understand the cause of the tragic incident and to examine preventive measures for the future,” the bench stated while initiating the proceedings.
Following the court’s move, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered a Magisterial inquiry into the stampede. The state administration has been directed to thoroughly investigate the lapses that may have led to the tragedy.
In a related development, the Managing Committee of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), along with its office bearers, has filed a separate petition before the High Court seeking to quash the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Cubbon Park Police Station.
KSCA, in its plea, clarified that it had no direct involvement in managing the event or crowd control at the stadium gates.
“The responsibility of managing the gates and crowd was handled by the RCB Franchise and DNA Events, under the supervision and direction of the police authorities,” the petition stated.
The committee further contended that they could not be held liable for the unfortunate incident, as they neither organised the event nor had any operational role in crowd management.
The petition by KSCA is yet to be taken up by the Karnataka High Court.
As the court continues to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragic stampede, both the legal accountability and procedural integrity of the arrests and FIRs are under close scrutiny.
