NEW DELHI: Just hours after being named the new Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, senior IPS officer Seemant Kumar Singh took charge on Friday morning, stepping into the role at a time of widespread public anger following a deadly stampede during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) victory celebrations. The Karnataka government announced Singh’s appointment late Thursday night, replacing B Dayananda, who was among five senior police officers suspended over alleged negligence that led to the chaos outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Singh, a 1996-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre, has extensive experience in the city and previously served as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force.Unprecedented police suspensions The move to suspend a sitting police commissioner is unprecedented in Karnataka’s history. Alongside Dayananda, the government also suspended additional commissioner of Police (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, deputy commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar H Tekkannavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cubbon Park sub-division) Balakrishna C, and Cubbon Park police inspector Girish AK.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah said the suspensions were ordered due to "serious lapses" and dereliction of duty. “The tragedy could have been avoided with better crowd management,” he said, adding that two FIRs had been filed and a full criminal investigation had been launched.First action under new commissioner Within hours of Singh taking over, the Bengaluru police arrested four individuals linked to the event, including a senior executive from RCB and three employees of the event management company. Nikhil Sosale, Head of Business Partnerships for RCB and Sports Marketing lead at Diageo India, was apprehended at Kempegowda International Airport while attempting to fly to Mumbai. He was taken into custody late Thursday night. The others arrested were Sunil Mathew, Director and Vice President of Business Affairs at DNA Entertainment Networks, Sumanth, a ticketing official, and Kiran Kumar, a manager at the same firm.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes, messages, and quotes !
English (US) ·