Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's political secretary removed after RCB parade stampede
What's the story
The Karnataka government has removed K Govindaraj from the post of political secretary to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with immediate effect, as per a state government notification. It has also transferred the head of intelligence, ADGP Hemant Nimbalkar. The two men are the latest against whom the Siddaramaiah government has taken action over the stampede that killed 11 people outside Chinnaswamy Stadium. It had earlier suspended Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda along with three other top senior officers.
KSCA
FIR agaisnt many
An FIR was also filed against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), event management company DNA Entertainment Networks, and others. Denying any involvement, the KSCA has filed a writ petition in the high court seeking to quash the FIR. In a statement, the KSCA said it was not involved in planning or executing the felicitation event. "The decision to hold the event was taken by the government..It was conducted at Vidhana Soudha, not Chinnaswamy Stadium."
Official sanction
'No malicious intent could be attributed to its members'
The KSCA also highlighted that the celebration had official sanction at the highest levels of government. "The celebration was facilitated by the government itself, in the presence of Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, cabinet ministers and senior police officials," they said. The association argued that no malicious intent could be attributed to its members and called it an accident caused by a sudden surge in the crowd.
Deceased
11 died, nearly 50 injured
The cricket body called it a "serious failure of justice" by the police and government, adding it would not be turned into a scapegoat. Eleven people died and nearly 50 were injured in the stampede on Wednesday, which occurred when hundreds of fans rushed to the stadium to catch a glimpse of RCB players after they won the Indian Premier League.