Made a scapegoat, suspended Bengaluru cop alleges in plea to tribunal

Suspended Bengaluru Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash has alleged that he is being “made a scapegoat” in the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede case and termed the Karnataka government’s suspension order against him “arbitrary” and “premature”.

In a petition filed before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), accessed by India Today, Vikash contends that the disciplinary action was taken without an enquiry or an opportunity to be heard.

The officer, in his petition, said that the government order itself was “eloquently silent” on how the tragedy can be attributed to him, while noting that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) were responsible for impulsively inviting crowds without tickets or passes.

“It begs belief as to how the applicant herein can be made a scapegoat when the government order itself highlights that the entire issue arose due to the callous and impulsive invitation of the RCB and KSCA,” the petition stated. “That any event of the scale as the celebrations envisaged requires planning and the very minimum time to plan.”

Vikash is among the several senior police officials suspended by the Karnataka government after the deadly stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 in which 11 died and over 50 others were injured.

The plea also pointed out that there was barely 12 hours between RCB lifting the IPL trophy and the celebrations, leaving no time for the police to make adequate preparations.

He questioned how he could be blamed when there was “hardly 12 hours time” for planning such a large-scale public gathering.

Vikash further argues that the June 5 suspension order was issued without considering alternative disciplinary steps, such as a transfer or departmental inquiry, and before the government-ordered magisterial probe could conclude. The petition describes the action as a “knee-jerk reaction to public pressure”, stating that the order is a “cyclostyled and mechanical” decision lacking independent evaluation of the officer’s role.

“The applicant has an unblemished service record,” the petition claims, adding that the move has caused “irreparable harm” to his career and reputation. It also cites past instances where officers were not suspended despite similar tragedies, arguing that the present action is discriminatory and legally unsustainable.