The Karnataka High Court has given interim bail to Nikhil Sosale, the marketing and revenue head at Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and three executives linked with event management company DNA Entertainment, in relation to the horrific stampede on Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium a fortnight ago.
Nikhil Sosale was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport on June 6 as he was on his way back to Mumbai. He was arrested two days after a tragic stampede that occurred during the celebration of RCB’s IPL victory on June 4 killed 11 and injured a minimum of 75.
Among the others who were arrested were Sunil Mathew and Kiran Kumar, who were Director and Event Manager of DNA Networks Pvt. Ltd., respectively, and Shamant NP Mavinakere, a freelancer associated with the company. All of them were interrogated for their supposed roles in organizing and carrying out the event.
In his Thursday judgment, Justice SR Krishna Kumar ruled that there was no adequate evidence to warrant detention of Sosale and the executives of DNA. He noted that, on the basis of the material submitted, their direct participation in the tragic incident at this juncture could not be made out. Sosale, in his plea, had termed his detention as “arbitrary and illegal.”
“The petitioners herein who are officials / employees / directors of RCB and DNA cannot be equated with the said companies and in the absence of any material prior to their arrest to establish their involvement and participation in the event so as to cause the mishap, the petitioners cannot be held to be vicariously liable for the alleged offences especially when they are not even named as accused persons in the subject FIRs,” read an official statement from the Court on Bar and Bench.
This follows the court’s earlier decision to extend interim bail to senior members of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which owns and manages the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The KSCA’s secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam stepped down from their roles on June 7, taking “moral responsibility” for the events that led to the fatal crowd crush.
The inquiry is still underway as authorities continue to investigate possible failures in crowd control and event organization that led to the tragedy.
