Can't lose 11 people, we need to be responsible: Gautam Gambhir on Bengaluru stampede

Speaking to the media ahead of his team's departure for England tour, Gambhir said he is not in favour of roadshows.

Gambhir said as quoted by several media, "I was never a believer that we need to have roadshows. Even when I was playing, I had the same statement to make. After winning in 2007 (T20 World Cup), I felt that we should not have roadshows. The lives of the people are far more important, and I will continue to say that. Even in the future, I think we can be a little bit aware and not hold these roadshows."

"All I can say is, we need to be responsible. Every life matters. If we are not ready to hold a road show, we should not do that. You cannot at any point of time lose 11 people," the former Indian cricketer, added.

Gambhir was a part of two roadshows, one in 2007 after the T20 World Cup win and the other in 2012 after Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL title.

Eleven people died and nearly 50 were injured when the crowd outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium swelled and went uncontrollable turning the celebratory mood into a nightmare within moments.

During a press conference this evening, Siddaramaiah, whose government is facing flak for alleged lack of proper arrangement, stated the administration did not expect the tragedy, as the stadium can accommodate 35,000 people.

"But the number of people who turned up is estimated to be two-three lakhs. We assumed there would be as many people as the stadium would accommodate or a bit more, but not as many as had actually turned up," Siddaramaiah said.

He announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of those who were killed in the stampede, and free treatment for the injured.

"I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into this tragedy. Appropriate action will be taken against the guilty. Instructions have been given to submit the investigation report within 15 days," he said.

The Bengaluru Police has arrested the Royal Challengers Bengaluru marketing head Nikhil Sosale, in connection with the stampede that occurred in Chennai's M Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday to celebrate the IPL title victory of the squad.

Sosale, the head of marketing and revenue for RCB at Diageo India, was taken into custody at the Bengaluru airport, reported India Today.

According to reports, he was detained when he was trying to fly out to Mumbai.

Police, separately, arrested three other members of the DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt. Ltd, the organisers who hosted the victory celebrations in the city.

They were identified as Kiran, Sumanth and Sunil Mathew.

Police have filed a case on their own (suo moto) against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Karnataka cricket body, and DNA Entertainment over the stampede.

The case has been filed under five sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 105, which deals with culpable homicide.

According to preliminary findings, the KSCA, DNA Networks, and the RCB franchise went ahead with the event despite not having received permission.

They did not provide proper facilities or manage crowd entry, despite being warned by the police, according to the initial investigation.