Thousands converged outside the stadium as police struggled to take control of the situation, resorting to mild use of force as well. That did little to discourage the people, many of whom could be seen pressed against the stadium’s entrance gate, desperate to get in.

The death toll is expected to rise as many of the seriously injured are being treated at the nearby Vydehi hospital and Bowering hospital.

“Crowd was uncontrollable, police was finding it difficult, so we had to stop procession,” Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said while speaking about the tragedy because of which a planned victory parade could not take place.

The BCCI said the turn of events was shocking and the organisers should have been better prepared.

“It’s most unfortunate, organisers should have planned RCB’s IPL-winning celebrations better,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told PTI.

“When one organises a victory celebration of this magnitude, proper precautions and security measures need to be taken,” he added.

This was after the team landed in Bengaluru in the afternoon, received by Shivakumar at the airport. RCB defeated Punjab Kings by six runs in the IPL final at Ahmedabad on Tuesday to clinch their maiden title in 18 years.

Fans lined up the streets and thronged the Chinnaswamy stadium to catch a glimpse of the stars, including the talismanic Virat Kohli.

The scenes were a reminder of the historic welcome given to the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad by Mumbai in July last year. However, things went haywire here.

The much-anticipated open-top bus parade, which was allowed to proceed by Siddaramaiah from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium, could not take place as crowd became unmanageable for the police.

The Bengaluru Traffic Police had already discouraged such a plan citing the congestion on the route.

But outside the Chinnaswamy stadium, fans jostled to sneak inside and it ultimately turned into a tragedy. Thousands of fans were also seen waiting outside the Vidhana Soudha to cheer the players.

The rainy weather in the city didn’t help. The police had already endured a torrid time managing the crowd that flooded the streets to celebrate the triumph last night.

In visuals shared online, Kohli could be seen holding the trophy and watching in awe, thousands who lined up the team’s bus route, cheerfully waving at the convoy. PTI UNG AMP PM MRM PM MRM MRM