Karnataka – In a firm response to the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) decision, the Karnataka government has defended the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash before the High Court. The state argued that the tribunal had overstepped its jurisdiction by revoking the officer’s suspension, which followed the deadly stampede outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4.
The government described the incident as unprecedented and tragic, noting that the scale of the crowd was unlike anything the city had seen before. The chaos unfolded after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) declared a victory parade to celebrate their maiden IPL title win.
‘Police Acted as Servants of RCB,’ Says The State Counsel
During the hearing, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty submitted that police officials behaved like subordinates to the cricket franchise. He stated that, even before the toss between RCB and Punjab Kings, RCB had submitted an application to the local police outlining potential celebration plans in case of victory. Instead of questioning the legitimacy of the request, police personnel allegedly began making security arrangements immediately.
The counsel emphasized that the officers failed to verify who had authorised the event and instead facilitated it, compromising public safety. “They went ahead with bandobast for the celebration instead of issuing prohibitory orders under the Police Act,” Shetty told the court.
State Points to Dereliction of Duty
The Advocate General further contended that managing a crowd of such size with barely 12 hours’ notice was unfeasible, yet no preventive measures were taken. The government questioned what action the officer had taken in those critical hours, pointing out that the suspension—approved by the Union government—was based on dereliction of duty.
The suspension order for Vikash Kumar Vikash was issued on June 5, one day after the stampede that claimed 11 lives and left many injured. The Karnataka government moved the High Court in July after CAT overturned the suspension.
Parade Without Preparation
On the day of the tragedy, lakhs of fans had gathered near the stadium to celebrate RCB’s historic win after 18 years. With little time for planning or coordination, the situation spiraled into a stampede, raising questions about lapses in crowd management and administrative preparedness.
