The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Head of Marketing Nikhil Sosale finds himself in real hot water following RCB's bus parade event, which soon turned into a chaotic stampede, claiming the lives of 11 people while leaving many fatally injured. Authorities were quick to clamp down and arrested him along with two other RCB officials at the airport while he was trying to flee the city. 

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Sosale submits his plea to the Karnataka High Court

Now in police custody under further notice, Sosale seeks immediate relief from prosecution. In a bid to evade the wrath of the law enforcement authorities, Sosale has reached out to the Karnataka High Court questioning the legal grounds of his arrest. While submitting a plea to the High Court, Sosale termed his arrest illegal, arbitrary, and not in accordance with the law.

“I was arrested without any preliminary enquiry and without any material evidence against me.”

The stampede occurred as a significant number of people assembled close to the stadium, eagerly awaiting the celebration event, which resulted in disorder and misfortune. RCB's marketing head argues that the arrest did not involve any preliminary investigation and was done solely on the basis of political pressure. While the outcome of his plea is awaited, it appears highly unlikely that he will get an interim bail considering the atrocious severity of the incident. 

Sosale was taken into police custody during the early hours of June 6, in the wake of the infamous stampede incident. While he may have been made the scapegoat in this entire fiasco, multiple FIRs have been issued against the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). Some top officials from the association have handed down their resignations, citing moral responsibilities. 

Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah issued a Magisterial probe into the stampede. The state administration has been instructed to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the shortcomings that could have contributed to the tragedy. Further on, the chief police commissioner, who was responsible for overseeing the entire event, has been suspended indefinitely by the CM. The RCB bus parade day serves as a reminder of how a glory day for a cricket team can turn into a catastrophic nightmare if adequate measures are overlooked.

The tragedy that has unfolded during RCB's victory parade event has left the entire country shaken. The officials who were responsible for overseeing the event have either been sacked or arrested. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has not evaded the wrath of the public, and reports have emerged that some of the top officials have already handed in their resignations on moral grounds.

Secretary A Shankar and Treasurer ES Jairam have submitted their resignation to KSCA president Raghuram Bhat following the horrific stampede incident that claimed the lives of 11 innocent fans. The resignation was made on the grounds of moral responsibility.  

See also: BCCI makes major move following stampede tragedy at RCB’s IPL 2025 victory celebrations in Bengaluru

Shankar and Jairam conveyed their wish to resign by writing to KSCA on Friday night. The message reads as follows: 

"Due to the unforeseen and unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last two days, and though our role was very limited, but owing moral responsibility, we wish to state that last night we have tendered our resignations to our respective posts as secretary and treasurer of the KSCA."

KSCA finds itself in troubled waters 

Following the horrific stampede clash, the authorities reacted swiftly, clamping down on anyone who had acted irresponsibly. RCB's head of marketing department, Nikhil Sosal, was an obvious target, and he was arrested along with three other RCB officials at the airport. Sosal was cautioned by the Bangalore police not to conduct the parade at such short notice. However, he pressed the authorities, ignoring the safety precautions, which ultimately resulted in a huge catastrophe for the franchise. 

An FIR was also lodged against KSCA. To counter it, KSCA submitted a writ petition, contending that the FIR filed against them was a "knee-jerk" response by the police, influenced by pressure from the state government.

SK Singh, the newly appointed police commissioner of the city, was also sacked from the post by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he acted on the directives issued by the RCB head of marketing. KSCA, on the other hand, also had to disband some of the members of their security who were responsible for controlling the mob. 

Amidst a heated backlash, KSCA has defended its stance by stating that the incident was triggered by an unprecedented influx of people and not by a specific individual or organisation. Besides, the association also added that the gate and crowd management were not within KSCA's scope, but fell under the jurisdiction of RCB, the event organisers, and the police.

A magisterial inquiry has been launched into the tragic stampede near the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL triumph celebrations on Wednesday, June 4. The stampede claimed the lives of 11 people and injured over 50. G. Jagadeesha, the Bengaluru Urban district Deputy Commissioner, heading the investigation, declared that notices will be served on several parties involved, such as the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), RCB officials, event promoters, and City Police Commissioner B. Dayananda.

Jagadeesha personally went to the stadium on Thursday to inspect the ground and assured that a detailed inquiry is on the go. "I am launching the inquiry today and will not make any conclusions until facts are collected," he said in a statement to the media. He added that the probe would be finished within 15 days and a report would be given to the government. Jagadeesha also explained that he was not the officer who grants event permits, as this is the domain of the Police Commissioner.

The disaster has caused outrage among the public and political debate throughout the state. On this, the Karnataka State Government had previously declared a complete magisterial inquiry into the accident and vowed to prosecute those involved. The unruly crowd of an estimated thousand or more reportedly overwhelmed the capacity of the stadium, presenting a dangerous scenario that eventually degenerated into tragedy.

New SOPs for Crowd Control on the Way

State Home Minister G. Parameshwara, in his press statement after the incident, has assured that the government will introduce a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in order to better handle large public gatherings. The new norms will ensure safety for the future by improving the planning and crowd control.

Also Read: RCB team management take huge step to support families of those affected in M Chinnaswamy stampede

Parameshwara promised the public that action would be taken strictly against the administrative deficiencies that caused the stampede. "We are committed to identifying the gaps and making sure such an incident never happens again," he said, reiterating the government's commitment to putting public safety first.

Anvay, who is Rahul Dravid's younger son, did very well at the CP Ground, Mulapadu, by obtaining an impressive 90 runs this happened on December 29, and his performance was a major factor in getting Karnataka to win against Rajasthan in the Vijay Merchant Trophy men's under-16 match.

Anvay Steps Up as Wickets Tumble

When Anvay walked up to bat, Karnataka wasn't doing very well with their score at 52/2 by the 20th over their captain, Dhruv Krishnan, had barely made a run before he was taken out by Harsh Singh. And it wasn't getting better when Arush Jain, who had a decent start, could only get 20 runs off 41 balls before Rajat Baghel had him walking back. A short time later, Arya J Gowda, hitting the opening shots, also had to leave after getting 27 runs from 86 balls. Karnataka's momentum was essentially slowing down.

Anvay was wonderful under pressure. He teamed up with Syaamantak Anirudh to add 62 runs to the scoreboard as the fifth pair, which really helped make everything calm. A portion of the other men had a hard time out there - such as Sukurth J who only got 11 runs and Puru Dewadwal who added 22. But, Anvay was on a different level, scoring 90 runs from 140 balls and hitting 12 boundaries before Sujal Parmar got him out.

His amazing effort made sure Karnataka reached 239 runs after playing 81.5 overs. It wasn't a simple endeavor for the team--but Anvay's performance was a major help.

Cricket legend and former Team India head coach Rahul Dravid's younger son Anvay Dravid scored 90 for Karnataka in the Vijay Merchant Trophy (for Under-16) https://t.co/05RehX11RI

— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) December 29, 2024

Hiremarth Shines in Bowling

Karnataka took the lead by 116 runs, right after Rajasthan struggled and only managed to score 123 runs in 53.5 overs; the star of the game, Hiremarth, got five batsmen out and was the big reason they won. Supporting him well, Gaurav Venkatesh secured three wickets, while Sukurth added two more to the tally. Although Ekansh Sharma and Yatharth Bhardawaj put in some effort for Rajasthan by scoring 32 off 134 balls and 41 off 62 balls, respectively, it just wasn't enough.

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Anvay's Award-Winning Performance

Anvay got these two awards from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) at their award ceremony on December 28th, and it was really very good, because it was only a single day before his major game. He was really the best player in the Vijay Merchant Trophy, hitting 357 runs across five matches, which made him the top run-getter for Karnataka. His score average was 45, and in four of those matches, he knocked more than fifty runs each. Very impressive.

Jofra Archer, the England fast bowler, showcased his skills as he bowled for a Karnataka team during a practice match against Sussex at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Friday, March 15.

Archer’s Training Camp in India

Archer arrived in India as part of a 10-day training camp for his County Championship side, Sussex, in Bengaluru. The camp aimed to prepare the team for the upcoming County season, with Lancashire also participating in a similar training program in Bengaluru.

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Although Archer did not bowl on the opening day of the tour game, he joined the Karnataka team as a substitute on Friday. Displaying his talent, Archer picked up two wickets in the morning session, including a stump-breaker delivery, showcasing his rhythm and skill.

Sussex Cricket Club Tweeted:

Jofra Archer is back in action! The speedster makes an impactful return during a practice match for a Karnataka team against Sussex in Bengaluru. Picking up two wickets, including a stump-breaker, Archer showed he’s in fine form. Great to see him back on the field!

After seeing the video, cricket fans started speculating that Jofra would be featured for RCB in the upcoming IPL season.

Future Prospects of Archer

Archer has been recovering from a stress fracture in his right elbow, which required surgery following the IPL 2023 season, where he represented the Mumbai Indians. Due to the recurrence of the injury, Archer opted out of IPL 2024, focusing on his rehabilitation and workload management under the guidance of the England and Wales Cricket Board.