In the aftermath of the tragic stampede that claimed 11 lives during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) felicitation ceremony at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, two top officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) stepped down from their posts on Saturday. Secretary A Shankar and Treasurer ES Jairam announced their resignations, just three days after the fatal incident that took place during RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebration.
Their decision came a day after KSCA and RCB jointly approached the Karnataka High Court in response to FIRs filed against them in relation to the incident. In a joint statement, the officials said they were stepping down out of moral responsibility.
“Though our involvement was minimal, considering the unfortunate events of the past two days, we have submitted our resignations as Secretary and Treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association. Our resignation letters, dated June 6, 2025, were submitted to the KSCA President,” the statement read.
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On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court took suo motu cognisance of the incident following an initial report from Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty. The court directed the state government to submit a status report by June 10. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar, presiding over the matter, also granted interim protection from arrest to senior KSCA officials, provided they cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru police arrested four individuals on Friday in connection with the stampede. Among them was Nikhil Sosale, RCB’s marketing head, who was apprehended at Kempegowda International Airport while allegedly trying to board a flight. Along with Sosale, three representatives of DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.—Sunil Mathew, Sumanth, and Kiran Kumar—were taken into custody and remanded to judicial detention for 14 days.
Sosale’s legal team contested his arrest, alleging it was politically driven and carried out on the Chief Minister’s orders without due investigation. However, the court declined to grant interim relief, stating that arguments from the state would be heard before any decision is made.
KSCA, in its court filing, clarified that its role was limited to renting out the venue and helping obtain required government permissions. It maintained that the responsibility for event organisation, ticket distribution, and crowd management fell to RCB and the police.
