The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise has come forward to support the victims, offering financial aid of Rs 10 Lakh to the families affected in the Bengaluru stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in a fresh statement. Showing solidarity amid the tragedy that led to 11 people dying and 33 getting injured, RCB also announced the creation of a fund called 'RCB Cares' to help those who were injured in the incident on Wednesday, June 4.
"The unfortunate incident in Bengaluru yesterday has caused a lot of anguish and pain to the RCB family. As a mark of respect and a gesture of solidarity, RCB has announced a financial support of INR 10 lakh to each of the eleven families of the deceased," RCB said in a statement on Thursday, June 5.
"In addition, a fund called RCB Cares is also being created to support fans injured in this tragic incident."
A harmless event planned to celebrate RCB's maiden IPL victory in Bengaluru, featuring an open-bus parade, followed by a felicitation ceremony at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, turned into a disaster with a stampede outside the venue. Obviously, with the fans waiting for a trophy with bated breath thronged the Bengaluru streets and the stadium without giving it much thought, leading to a situation going out of control for the authorities.
RCB's financial support was announced on the back of KSCA offering Rs 5 Lakh ex gratia to the victim's kin and the Karnataka state government also came forward with Rs 10 Lakh financial support to the families. Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Anushka Sharma, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya and Smriti Mandhana all offered their condolences and were shaken by the incident
The BCCI, on the other hand, was caught unaware of the incident and the IPL chairman, Arun Singh Dhumal, said that as soon as he was informed of the tragedy, he urged the RCB officials to call off the event. The open-bus parade, which was scheduled earlier in the day, was cancelled by the Bengaluru Traffic Advisory but got back on track as per RCB's fresh announcement afternoon. The confusion and the anticipation among fans to see their favourite stars and get a glimpse of the trophy led to things getting out of control.