"This is very sad": Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan on Bengaluru stampede

Gurugram (Haryana) [India] June 5 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan has expressed his grief at the deaths of 11 people in a stampede on Wednesday near the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

"This is very sad", he said. "It's tragic, it just transpired in front of my eyes... I saw that relief on Virat's face, the kind of traction, and the kind of wanting for this IPL trophy. I think the fans bought into this story of Virat Kohli, and it was such a big thing. I think the fans went crazy. It was made to look even bigger than India winning the World Cup, which was crazy for me. This is good marketing by the franchisees and IPL...You can't blame the politicians because getting this many people together in a rally was a wet dream come true," Atul Wassan told ANI.

The incident occurred on Wednesday during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL winning celebrations near the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium when thousands of fans gathered to catch a glimpse of their favourite players.

Wassan also believed that Virat Kohli was unaware of the tragic incident near the Chinnaswamy Stadium while the felicitation was taking place inside.

"They would have to pay for so many meals, probably give sarees away, and this was free for all. For the franchisees, it was free publicity because they had to sell the slots next year. Now that the team has won, they've got to raise the rates. The players have no role to play. The players were doing it for the fans because they thought the fans had been with them for 18 years, and they wanted to be next to the fans. So they were giving it back to the fans. There was no advantage or benefit for the players in it. When I say the players, it's Virat. Virat Kohli was paying it back to the fans in today's celebrations. I cannot believe in a million years that Virat Kohli knew that people were dying outside and the felicitation was going inside," he added.

Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that 11 people died in the incident while 33 others were injured.CM Siddaramaiah said that the government will also provide free treatment to the injured.

"A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured," the CM said.

Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, CM Siddaramaiah said, "11 died and 33 were injured in the stampede. This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident." (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)