On Friday, the Bengaluru Police detained Nikhil Sosale, Head of Marketing and Revenue for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Alongside him, two employees of DNA Entertainment Network—Senior Event Manager Kiran Kumar and Vice President of Business Affairs Sunil Mathew—were also taken into custody.

These arrests were carried out under direct orders from Karnataka’s Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, after a tragic stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium claimed the lives of eleven people during RCB’s IPL victory festivities on June 2. In response to the incident, the CM announced on Thursday that officials from RCB, DNA Entertainment Network, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) must be arrested immediately.

Simultaneously, Siddaramaiah declared the suspension of several senior police officers: Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, Additional Commissioner (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar H. Tekkannavar, and personnel from the Cubbon Park Police Station. He stated, “We have entrusted this inquiry to a one-man judicial commission, chaired by retired Karnataka High Court Justice Michael D’Cunha, with instructions to submit its report within 30 days. The Intelligence and Crime Investigation Department (CID) has already registered an FIR and is conducting the investigation.”

The Chief Minister further elaborated that along with the CID probe, the Inspector in charge of Cubbon Park PS, the Area ACP, the DCP of the Central Division, and higher-ranking officers overseeing the stadium and city police have been placed on immediate suspension. These decisive actions mark the state government’s effort to hold multiple stakeholders accountable for the stampede that marred what was meant to be a celebratory event.