BENGALURU: A teenage girl eager to see her cricketing heroes. A young techie whose laptop still waits on her desk. A woman carried on shoulders by friends, gasping for life. A student found with torn clothes, his mother’s cries echoing through hospital corridors.All were caught in a crushing crowd surge during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s victory parade on Wednesday, turning joy into devastation.Fourteen-year-old Divyamshika – fondly called Dimple – had watched the final late into Tuesday night, cheering for RCB. The next afternoon, she went to Chinnaswamy Stadium with her mother, aunt, and grandaunt to see RCB players celebrate their long-awaited IPL title. Around 4.50pm, crowds outside began pushing in. Caught in the stampede, Dimple was trampled.“My daughter called me and kept crying, telling me to rush to Bowring Hospital. She didn’t say why. My granddaughter was crushed underfoot,” said her grandfather Lakshminarayan. “She had just started Class IX. They went to celebrate, not die.”At Vydehi Hospital, another tragedy was unfolding. Bhoomik, 21, had gone to the stadium with friends. Separated in the rush, he was later found unconscious, clothes torn. “We tried to revive him in the police jeep, but he didn’t make it,” said a friend. His mother’s cries echoed: “Chinnu, get up. Your mamma has come.”His parents alleged delay in medical care and added insult when chief minister Siddaramaiah’s visit held up hospital formalities. “If he told us he was going, we wouldn’t have let him. He was our only son,” said his father.Devi, a Tamil Nadu native and RCB fan, had skipped a few hours of work to attend the parade. She texted her friend “I’m taking the metro!” and rushed to the stadium after failing to get tickets online. “Her laptop is still on the table and her bags are there, but she is not,” her colleague said, waiting outside the hospital.Sahana, 24, from Kolar had come with 12 colleagues. “We waited near Gate 7. Police tried to enforce queues, but people pushed from behind. We fell. People ran over us,” said her friend. “There was no ambulance. We carried Sahana till Tonique shop and begged a car for help. She couldn’t be saved.”
