The Karnataka Police on Friday arrested four persons, including a representative of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, in connection with the stampede outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium that killed 11 persons and injured more than 50, The Indian Express reported.

Nikhil Sosale, the marketing head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, along with event management firm DNA Entertainment Networks’ Sunil Mathew, Kiran and Sumanth, were arrested at the city’s Kempegowda International Airport, NDTV reported.

This came hours after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said that the state government had ordered the arrest of representatives from the Karnataka State Cricket Association, DNA Entertainment Networks and Royal Challengers Bengaluru for the stampede.

A first information report had been filed at the Cubbon Park Police Station against them earlier in the day based on a complaint that alleged that criminal negligence had led to the stampede.

Unidentified police officers told The Indian Express that the Karnataka State Cricket Association officials had been absconding since Thursday night.

On Friday, Karnataka State Cricket Association chief Raghu Ram Bhat and other office bearers moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the FIR filed against, PTI reported.

The stampede took place on Wednesday at Gate Number 3 of the stadium, where fans had gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory in the Indian Premier League and welcome the team.

On Thursday, Siddaramaiah suspended Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and several police officers, The Hindu reported.

The state government named Seemanth Kumar Singh, the Additional Director-General of Police (Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force), to replace Dayananda.

Apart from Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar Tekkanavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cubbon Park Division) Bala Krishna and Cubbon Park Police Station Inspector Girish were suspended.

“The matter was discussed with the senior ministers and legal advisor AS Ponnanna,” The News Minute quoted the chief minister as saying. “We felt the police had been irresponsible and negligent. I have never seen a stampede since I became MLA. This has distressed us all.”

The investigation in the case would be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department, the chief minister said, adding that prima facie there was negligence on the part of the police, The News Minute reported.

He also said that a judicial inquiry would be conducted by a one-man commission headed by former Karnataka High Court judge Michael D’Cunha, The Hindu reported.

Earlier on Thursday, the Karnataka High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and issued a notice to the state government. It also sought a “further status report” from the state.

Prior to this, state Home Minister G Parameshwara had alleged that Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Karnataka State Cricket Association wanted to organise the victory event and the state government only facilitated it.

Siddaramaiah had also made the claim on Wednesday evening, saying: “It is not us. We didn’t make any request regarding the celebration to RCB [Royal Challengers Bengaluru] and KSCA [Karnataka State Cricket Association]. They organised this.”

He had claimed that two lakh to three lakh people came for the victory march at the stadium, which has a capacity of only 35,000.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, had called for Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar’s resignations.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for each of the 11 families of the deceased. The team also said it was setting up a fund, RCB Cares, to support those injured in the incident.

“The unfortunate incident…has caused a lot of anguish and pain to the RCB family…Our fans will always remain at the heart of everything that we do,” it said in a social media post.

What the FIR says

The FIR was registered based on a complaint by Police Inspector Girish AK.

In his complaint, Girish said that the Karnataka State Cricket Association had requested police security on Tuesday for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s celebration event at Chinnaswamy Stadium the next day.

“However, the police inspector said it would be difficult for the police to manage another huge crowd the very next day, as it could cause chaos and major traffic issues,” the complaint read, adding that permission for the event at the stadium was denied.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and DNA Entertainment Networks went ahead with their plans and “ignored the police’s instructions” despite the denial of permission, it alleged.

Girish claimed that Royal Challengers Bengaluru announced their celebration and victory parade on their social media and website on Wednesday without any official permission.

“Once this news spread on TV channels and social media, we [police] informed our senior officers and requested security and necessary arrangements,” the complaint read. “On 4th June, 9.00 am, took permissions from the higher officers and asked police personals from all over the city on urgent basis and the security arrangements were made.”

On Wednesday, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru arrived at Vidhan Soudha for the felicitation ceremony, the complaint said, adding that around 5.30 pm, the victory parade began towards Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“Police provided security at the stadium, but KSCA [Karnataka State Cricket Association], RCB [Royal Challengers Bengaluru], and DNA failed to plan how the crowd would be allowed in,” the complaint said. “The stadium holds only 30,000 to 35,000 people, but lakhs of fans had gathered outside.”

Girish added that the gates were opened at 3.10 pm, after which chaos broke out and the stampede took place.

“RCB did not inform the police or public about how passes would be distributed,” he said. “This caused confusion among the lakhs of fans waiting outside, which led to overcrowding and the stampede.”