In a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday held Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar personally responsible for the stampede tragedy during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory celebrations, demanding his immediate resignation for what he termed as “unpardonable” negligence.
“This blatant disregard for police advisories and the tragic outcome — even after a death was confirmed by Bowring Hospital — is unpardonable and must be condemned,” Joshi said, while talking to media.
The Union Minister accused the state government of brushing aside serious warnings from senior police officers, including a written letter by the DCP, which flagged the risk of organising any public event within 24 hours of the RCB match on June 3. “The entire city was on the streets that night, celebrating. Many were intoxicated. The police worked round the clock to disperse crowds safely. They were exhausted,” Joshi said.
He added that the Police Commissioner, who routinely meets the Home Minister whenever he is in Bengaluru, had to skip the meeting the following morning due to being on overnight patrol duty. “And yet, despite all this, around 8:30 am, the Commissioner received information that a pandal was being erected for a largescale celebration. He immediately appealed to the Chief Minister to cancel it due to lack of police manpower. But that appeal was ignored.”
