Tribunal Overturns Officer's Suspension
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has revoked the suspension of senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was removed from his post as Additional Commissioner following the deadly stampede at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The ruling, which also directs the government to consider his suspension period as official duty, came just two days after the Central Government had formally approved the suspension of Vikash and two other senior officers for lapses in crowd management.
The tragic incident occurred during celebrations for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team's maiden IPL title victory, leading to the deaths of 11 people and injuring around 70 others. In the aftermath, the state government recommended disciplinary action against the officers. However, Vikash promptly challenged the decision, approaching the CAT with the argument that the suspension order was unjust. He contended that it lacked clarity on his specific role or any act of "wilful negligence" that could be directly attributed to him.
Questions of Systemic Failure Arise
While the tribunal focused on the specifics of the officer's suspension, the case has brought larger issues of accountability and intelligence gathering to the forefront. During a review meeting, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed deep dismay over the incident, stating he had never witnessed such a tragedy in his long political career. He squarely blamed a failure of communication and intelligence for the loss of life.
The Chief Minister questioned the purpose of the intelligence department if it could not provide proper and timely information that might have allowed authorities to call off the stadium event. He noted that if senior officers had received correct information sooner, the catastrophe could have been averted. His comments suggest that the blame may extend beyond individual officers to systemic weaknesses within the police force's ability to manage large-scale public events.
The tribunal's decision to reinstate the officer, juxtaposed with the Chief Minister's critique, creates a complex picture. While one officer has been cleared of immediate culpability, the underlying failures that led to the stampede remain a critical and unresolved issue for the state administration.
