Calling it the “darkest day in history of Karnataka police,” former IPS officer Bhaskar Rao slammed the Karnataka government for suspending Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B. Dayananda following the deadly stampede during the revelry to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory in the city on June 4, 2025.
A day after the tragic incident at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed the lives of 11 people, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on June 5, 2025, suspended Mr. Dayananda and all police officials responsible for the jurisdiction where the stadium is, pending inquiry.
The government later named Seemanth Kumar Singh, a 1996 batch IPS officer, presently posted as Additional Director-General of Police, Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force, as the new city Police Commissioner.
Mr. Rao, who himself served as the city police chief from August 2019 to August 2020, criticised the move in a post on X. While lashing out at CM Siddaramaiah for going into “panic mode”, he also accused Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar of being “the main culprit” who “orchestrated the death march.”
“The Government has Blood on its Hands and Now has lost its Mind too. The Government is now in Disaster (sic),” wrote Mr. Rao who joined the BJP on March 1, 2023, after being the face of the Aam Aadmi Party in Karnataka for 11 months. He contested the 2023 Assembly elections as the BJP’s candidate from Chamrajpet constituency in the city.
Published – June 06, 2025 01:06 pm IST
