Bengaluru, June 7 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, ordered an increase in compensation for the 11 families of those who died in the June 4 Chinnaswamy Stadium tragedy, raising the amount to Rs 25 lakh each. Previously, the government had announced Rs 10 lakh in compensation per family.

Union Minister for Large and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje, and the Karnataka BJP leadership have demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the families of the deceased.

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise has announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the deceased, while the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has announced Rs 5 lakh in this regard.

The BJP has been demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar over the incident.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders are defending CM Siddaramaiah by drawing comparisons between the Pahalgam terror attack and the Prayagraj stampede incident.

The incident has proven to be a major setback for the Congress-led government in Karnataka. The BJP further described the initial compensation amount of Rs 10 lakh as meagre.

Minister for Higher Education M.C. Sudhakar said on Saturday that CM Siddaramaiah is saddened by the stampede incident. “We all are sad. The incident has caused severe pain to CM Siddaramaiah. One cannot bring back the lives which are lost, and one cannot compensate for the suffering of the family members,” he stated.

“In my constituency, two youths have lost their lives. I am pained as well. This kind of celebration was not witnessed even when India won the Cricket World Cup. The victory parade was decided in haste by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) management due to player commitments. It was not the Congress-led government which decided it,” Minister Sudhakar stated.

Meanwhile, the Special Wing of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday began its probe into the Chinnaswamy stampede tragedy, which claimed 11 lives on June 4.

Concurrently, the magisterial inquiry by the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban district is also progressing. CID sleuths have visited the Chinnaswamy Stadium and collected information.

The CID is likely to seek custody of the four arrested accused, who were sent to jail, for questioning on Monday, June 9. The department has already filed a petition in court for this purpose.

The Karnataka Police, in the FIR lodged regarding the stampede, stated that the accused parties — RCB franchise, event management firm DNA, and the KSCA Administrative Committee — organised the victory celebration without the necessary permissions

The FIR has been registered under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by using dangerous weapons or means), 118(2) read with Section 3(5) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt, when the act is done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 190 (unlawful assembly), 132 (criminal force to deter a public servant), 125(a) (filing false affidavit), and 125(b) (rash and negligent acts that endanger human life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A police complaint has also been lodged against cricketer Virat Kohli on Friday regarding the incident.

–IANS

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