BJP leader R Ashoka urges CM Siddaramaiah to hand over stampede probe case to CBI
Bengaluru, Jul 19 (PTI): BJP leader R Ashoka on Saturday urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hand over the investigation into the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium here during the RCB victory celebration to CBI so that the real culprits behind the incident are identified and justice is served for the innocent lives lost.
The June 4 stampede outside the stadium led to the death of 11 people, while 56 were injured, as a large number of people thronged to participate in the Royal Challenger Bengaluru (RCB) team's IPL victory celebrations.
In a letter to the chief minister, Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly, said that this "tragic" incident, which has sparked a statewide debate, has become a "black spot" in the history of Karnataka sports. There have been accusations and counter-accusations between the police and the state government on this issue.
Citing media reports, the BJP leader said that the stampede occurred due to the police's failure in crowd management. However, the government has merely suspended a few police officials and "washed its hands" off the matter.
In connection with the stampede tragedy, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and four other senior police officials, including Vikash Kumar Vikash, were suspended on the charge of dereliction of duty. Later, Vikash moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) challenging the state government's June 5 suspension order.
The tribunal later quashed the Karnataka government's suspension order against Vikash.
Ashoka, in his letter to Siddaramaiah, stated that the tribunal, during a hearing on the suspension of one such officer, also opined that holding only the police officials accountable is not appropriate.
"The question still remains as to who are the real culprits behind this incident that has claimed the lives of innocent people. The people of the state are also seeking answers to the same question," the BJP leader said.
"Therefore, I request you to hand over this case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) without any political interference, so that the real culprits behind the incident are identified and justice is served for the innocent lives lost," he added.
Recently, in its status report on the stampede that was submitted to the Karnataka High Court, the state government blamed IPL franchisee RCB, its event management partner, and the state cricket association for ignoring standard procedures and safety measures during the team's victory march here, leading to a stampede.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
