Bengaluru police have taken Nikhil Sosale, head of marketing and revenue for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Diageo India, into custody in connection with the stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, June 4.
Sosale was reportedly detained at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Mumbai.
In a parallel development, three employees of DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt. Ltd.—the agency responsible for managing the RCB victory celebration—have also been taken in for questioning. The individuals have been identified as Kiran, Sumanth, and Sunil Mathew.
All four are currently being interrogated at Cubbon Park Police Station, where the First Information Report (FIR) in the case was initially registered. The FIR names Royal Challengers Bengaluru, DNA Entertainment Networks, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) as accused parties in the incident.
Meanwhile, police said that KSCA’s secretary and treasurer are currently untraceable. Attempts to locate them at their residences have so far been unsuccessful.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) failed to notify police before publicly announcing their IPL victory parade on social media, police sources revealed. The promotional post, which quickly went viral and garnered over one million views, was shared before the franchise had secured official permission for the event—a request that was ultimately denied.
The unauthorized gathering led to a deadly stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, claiming 11 lives and injuring at least 64 others. In response, the Karnataka state government has launched a crackdown, suspending several top officials, including Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, citing serious lapses in public safety and event coordination.
Amid the escalating crisis, the state government is under heavy fire for what critics are calling a systemic failure. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Adding to the controversy, reports indicate that Shivakumar was present inside the stadium during the celebration, taking photos with the RCB team despite being informed of the stampede unfolding outside.
