In the wake of the tragic stampede at Bengaluru‘s Chinnaswamy Stadium, Karnataka Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Intelligence, Mr. Hemant Nimbalkar, a 1998-batch IPS officer, has been transferred, according to official sources on Friday. The stampede, which occurred on Wednesday evening during the IPL victory celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), left 11 people dead and 56 others injured.
The incident has sparked a series of administrative actions, with mounting criticism directed at lapses in intelligence and crowd control. Chief Minister Mr. Siddaramaiah acknowledged an intelligence failure, stating that the matter had been discussed but no final decision had been taken regarding punitive measures against those responsible.
Multiple senior police officials have already been suspended in connection with the incident, including Circle Inspector A K Girish of Cubbon Park Police Station, Assistant Commissioner of Police C Balakrishna, Deputy Commissioner of Police Shekhar H Tekkannavar, Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash (2004-batch IPS officer), and Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Mr. Dayananda (1994-batch IPS officer).
The Karnataka Police have also registered an FIR against the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Administrative Committee and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), among others. However, the Karnataka High Court has issued a directive to the state police not to take coercive action against KSCA office bearers at this stage.
Meanwhile, Mr. K Govindaraj has been removed from his post as Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, with immediate effect, as per an official government notification.
