Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, July 2: Jolted by the deadly stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL victory celebrations last month, the Karnataka government has rolled out a stringent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to regulate crowd management at major public events.

The move follows intense criticism over the government's handling of the June 4 disaster that claimed 11 lives and left 64 injured, exposing glaring lapses in crowd control and emergency response.

The new SOP, issued on Tuesday by Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP) M A Saleem, aims to ensure that all future mass gatherings — including religious festivals, protests, rallies, processions, and sporting events — are conducted under strict safety protocols.

Planning now mandatory for mass events

The SOP makes it mandatory for police and event organisers to conduct pre-event site inspections and develop a detailed crowd management plan. This includes evaluating:
Venue capacity

Availability of emergency exits

Use of technology such as QR codes or biometrics for access control

Police will be responsible for overseeing public safety, traffic regulation, medical response, and ticketing where applicable.

Key SOP highlights:

Trained personnel must be deployed at all entry gates.

Separate access points must be set up for men, women, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
Emergency exits must be clearly marked and accessible at all times.

Public announcements via loudspeakers must be used to provide real-time guidance.

Ambulance access and onsite medical support must be guaranteed.

Emergency preparedness & use of force guidelines

The SOP mandates simulation drills before large events to prepare police and rescue teams for unexpected emergencies such as protests or extreme weather.

Police must prioritise public safety, avoid unnecessary confrontations, and use force only when absolutely necessary. In cases requiring dispersal, the SOP stipulates that three public warnings must be issued before taking legal action.

All police actions — including decisions, movements, and warnings — must be documented via audio and video recordings for accountability.

Legal backing & human dignity

The guidelines are framed in accordance with the Karnataka Police Act (KP Act) and the newly implemented Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — India’s updated code for criminal procedure — with the stated goal of upholding public order and human dignity.

Background: Chinnaswamy Stampede

The SOP comes in direct response to the RCB celebration stampede that occurred on June 4 outside Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium. The event, intended as a public victory lap, turned chaotic when crowd control measures failed, resulting in multiple fatalities and triggering widespread outrage.

Several senior police officials were suspended, and the government has since faced mounting pressure to ensure such tragedies are never repeated.

With the new SOP, authorities hope to restore public trust and create a safer framework for managing large-scale gatherings across Karnataka.