Karnataka IPS officer Seemanth Kumar Singh was on Thursday named as the new Bengaluru Police Commissioner after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suspended top cop B Dayananda and other officials in the wake of the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede that killed 11 people.
Who is Seemanth Kumar Singh?
A 1996-batch IPS officer, Seemanth Singh is currently the Additional Director General of Police, Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force. He has been appointed Additional Director General of Police and Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City, until further orders.
Siddaramaiah suspends Bengaluru Police Commissioner, top officials
In a big development, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier in the day suspended Bengaluru Police commissioner B Dayananda and several other senior police officials in connection with the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium that killed 11 people. He also ordered the arrest of representatives of the RCB team, the event management firm DNA Entertainment Private Limited, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), hours after an FIR was registered against them under various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The state government's action came amidst an all-out attack by the BJP, which has demanded the resignations of Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivkumar, who accused it of playing "dirty politics".
State government forms one-man judicial commission
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting, the Chief Minister announced a one-man judicial probe, headed by Justice Michael D'Cunha, a retired High Court judge of Karnataka, into the tragic incident.
"We have told the commission to give the report in 30 days," Siddaramaiah said and added that "the Cabinet has also decided to immediately suspend the Circle Police Inspector of the Cubbon Park Police Station AK Girish and Assistant Commissioner of Police C Balakrishna, Deputy Commissioner of Police of the central division Shekhar H Tekkannavar, Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, who is in charge of the stadium, and Commissioner of Police Bengaluru city Dayananda."
Karnataka government to formulate SOPs for mega events
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara announced that the government will formulate a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for mega events, meetings, and celebrations to prevent any untoward incidents.Meanwhile, the families of those who died in the tragic incident on Wednesday remained inconsolable and blamed the authorities for the stampede. "Why didn't they make proper arrangements? Go and see Mysore Palace Road – for political events, they arrange everything. For this celebration, they should have had proper planning. Intelligence should have been there," said Shivakumar, the grieving father of 15-year-old Divyanshi.