RCB marketing head arrested, event firm officials detained over killer stampede

BENGALURU, JUN 6 : The Bengaluru police have arrested the marketing head of RCB, Nikhil Sosale, in connection with the stampede that occurred outside M Chinnaswamy stadium on Wednesday, June 4.

Sosale, the head of marketing and revenue for RCB at Diageo India was taken into custody at the Bengaluru airport, when he was reportedly flying out to Mumbai.

Separately, three staff members of DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt. Ltd., the organisers of the victory celebrations were also detained by the police.

The personnel, identified as Kiran, Sumanth and Sunil Mathew, were taken in for questioning. The interrogation was underway at the Cubbon Park Police Station, where the FIR regarding the stampede was registered, with RCB, the event organisation company and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) being named as accused.

Meanwhile, the KSCA secretary and treasurer were said to be on the run. The police reached their house but could not find them.

Sources said that the RCB management did not consult the police before tweeting about their victory parade, which went viral, with over a million views. According to sources, they later approached the police for permission for a victory parade which was denied.

The action comes amidst the Karnataka government suspending top police officers, including Bengaluru City Commissioner B Dayananda for the lapses in arrangement that led to the stampede which claimed 11 lives and injured 64 others.

The Karnataka government has been pummelled for what critics called mismanagement and negligence which led to the stampede, with the BJP calling for the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar. Reports suggest that the latter attended the event inside the stadium, taking photos with the IPL 2025 winning team, even after being told about the stampede.

-PTI