BENGALURU: Following the tragic death of 11 people during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) victory parade, the Karnataka State Government has relieved Mr. K. Govindaraju — a close aide of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah — from his post as Political Secretary with immediate effect. The government, however, did not provide an official reason for his removal.
Opposition parties, including the BJP and the JD(S), have alleged that it was due to pressure from Govindaraju that the felicitation ceremony for RCB players and staff was organised at the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha and at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Sources indicate that during the recent cabinet meeting, both the Chief Minister and senior ministers expressed anger toward Govindaraju over the incident.
In a parallel development, the government has also suspended Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), Hemanth Nimbalkar, in connection with the stampede.
Earlier on Thursday, the government suspended several senior police officials, including:
- Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand
- Additional Commissioner of Police (West), Bengaluru City – Vikash Kumar Vikash
- DCP (Central Division), Bengaluru City – Shekar H.T.
- ACP, Cubbon Park – C. Balakrishna
- Police Inspector, Cubbon Park Police Station – A.K. Girish
- These actions follow public outrage and mounting political pressure after the deadly stampede during the celebratory event.
