Bengaluru stampede: Panel says no to large events at Chinnaswamy stadium, cites safety concerns
Bengaluru: The Chinnaswamy stadium will have to stop hosting large if the government acts on the report from the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission, which concluded that the stadium’s "design and structure" are "unsuitable and unsafe" for mass gatherings.
The Commission highlighted "systematic limitations" and strongly recommended moving big events to more suitable venues, as reported by Deccan Herald on Wednesday.
The Commission was formed to investigate the June 4 stampede outside the stadium which claimed eleven lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL victory celebrations.
The Commission found the stadium's design and structure to be inadequate and unsafe for mass gatherings. It noted that all entry and exit points led directly onto the footpath, and there was no spacious, organised holding area for crowds. As a result, attendees were forced to queue on the footpath or road, blocking pedestrian and vehicle movement, while also giving scope for miscreants to join the crowd aggravating the risk, especially in the absence of proper security.
“Any future venue should adhere to international standards,” the Commission said. Recommendations include building purpose-designed queuing and circulation zones separated from public roads, adequate gates for mass entry and exit, integrated public transport access points and tourist hubs, emergency evacuation plans compliant with international safety norms, sufficient parking, and drop-off infrastructure to handle attendee volumes.
The panel in its report cautioned that until the necessary infrastructure improvements are made, hosting high-attendance events at the Chinnaswamy stadium would pose unacceptable risks to public safety, urban mobility, and emergency preparedness.
The panel has recommended action against KSCA chief Raghuram Bhat, ex-secretary A. Shankar, ex-treasurer E.S. Jairam, RCB vice-president Rajesh Menon, DNA Entertainment Networks MD T. Venkat Vardhan and VP Sunil Mathur, police officers B. Dayananda, Vikash Kumar Vikash, Shekhar H. Tekkannavar, C. Balakrishna and A.K. Girish, added the report.
The state government is expected to discuss the recommendations in the next Cabinet meeting.
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Bangladesh court sentences Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in corruption cases
Dhaka (PTI): A Bangladesh court on Monday sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project.
Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam handed down the verdicts, sentencing Hasina to a total of 10 years’ imprisonment — five years in each case, state-run BSS news agency reported.
The court sentenced 78-year-old Hasina, her nephew Radwan Mujib Siddiq, and her nieces, Tulip Rizwana Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq, and others in the cases over alleged irregularities in the allocation of plots under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol.
The judgment was pronounced at around 12.30 pm.
Tulip Siddiq was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment — two years in each case — while Radwan Mujib Siddiq and Azmina Siddiq were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment in both cases.
Rajuk member Mohammad Khurshid Alam, the only accused to surrender before the court, was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in each case, totalling two years.
The court also fined all convicted persons Tk1 lakh each and ordered them to serve an additional six months in prison in default of payment.
Hasina has been living in India since she fled Bangladesh on August 5 last year in the face of the massive protests. She was earlier declared a fugitive by the court.
The cases were filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over alleged abuse of power in the allocation of two 10-katha plots.
According to the prosecution, the accused manipulated the allocation process and violated existing rules and regulations of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).
