Toh yeh hai RCB ka naya “victory lap”? Ek IPL trophy jeetne ke baad, Bengaluru ke M. Chinnaswamy Stadium ke bahar jo bheed ka tandav hua, usne 11 logon ki jaan le li aur 75 se zyada logon ko ghayal kar diya. Aur is sab ke beech, RCB ke bade afsar Nikhil Sosale aur unke event management partner DNA Networks ke do officials ko Karnataka High Court ne interim bail de di. Bail bhi aisi, jisme passport jama karne ki shart hai, jaise ke yeh log bhaag ke kahin Dubai ya London jaane wale the! Yeh sab dekh ke lagta hai, RCB ne apni pehli IPL trophy ke jashn mein thodi si bhi planning nahi ki thi. Kya itne bade franchise ko itni bhi samajh nahi ki 3 lakh fans ek chhote se stadium ke bahar kaise sambhale jayenge?
Lekin chalo, thodi der ke liye is ghamgheer vaqiye se hat kar cricket ki duniya mein ghoom aate hain. Yaad hai jab 2007 mein India ne T20 World Cup jeeta tha? Dhoni ke chhakkon ne pure desh ko jashn mein dooba diya tha, lekin kahin bhi aisi afra-tafri nahi hui. Ya phir 2011 ka World Cup, jab Yuvraj Singh aur Gautam Gambhir ne apne dum par India ko final tak le gaye. Un jashnon mein bhi logon ne dil khol ke enjoy kiya, par koi stampede nahi hua. Kyun? Kyunki tab event management aur local authorities ke beech ek coordination tha, jo shayad RCB ke case mein bilkul nahi dikha. Bengaluru Police ne toh yeh bhi kaha ki RCB ko is event ke liye permission hi nahi di gayi thi. Ab yeh baat samajh se pare hai ki ek itni badi team, jiske paas Diageo jaisa parent company hai, kaise itni badi galti kar sakti hai?
Ab thodi si baat RCB ke fans ke liye. Yeh wahi fans hain jo har saal “Ee Sala Cup Namde” ka nara lagate hain, chahe team kitna bhi peeche kyun na ho. In fans ka passion toh dekhte hi banta hai. Jab Virat Kohli ya Faf du Plessis koi bada shot khelte hain, toh Chinnaswamy mein goonj itni hoti hai ki dil khush ho jata hai. Lekin is baar, unhi fans ke josh ko sambhalne mein RCB ki team nakaam rahi. Nikhil Sosale, jo RCB ke marketing aur revenue head hain, unka kaam toh sirf branding aur paisa banane tak nahi hai, balki aise events ko safe aur successful banane ka bhi hai. Court ne unhe aur DNA Networks ke do officials, Sunil Mathew aur Kiran Kumar, ko interim bail di, kyunki unke khilaaf koi solid proof nahi mila. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar ne kaha ki in logon ka direct involvement prove nahi hua, aur bina proof ke arrest “illegal” tha. Yeh sun ke thodi si rahat toh banta hai, kyunki bina proof ke kisi ko jail mein daal dena galat hai.
Lekin yahan ek bada sawaal banta hai. Agar RCB aur DNA Networks itne pak-saaf hain, toh phir yeh stampede hua kaise? Koi toh zimmedar hoga! Karnataka High Court ne yeh bhi point out kiya ki police ne arrest ke waqt mandatory documents jaise arrest memo ya grounds of arrest nahi dikhaye, jo ki Arnesh Kumar aur D.K. Basu ke cases ke guidelines ke khilaaf hai. Matlab, police ne bhi apna kaam thik se nahi kiya. Aur upar se, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ke orders par yeh arrests hue, aisa Sosale ke lawyers ne claim kiya. Yeh sun ke lagta hai ki shayad yahan politics bhi apna rang dikha rahi hai, aur chhote se chhote worker ko iska khamiyaza bhugatna pad raha hai.
Ab thodi si baat cricket ke us spirit ki, jo hamesha chhote players ya underdog teams ko support karta hai. Yaad hai jab 2008 mein Rajasthan Royals, ek chhoti si team, ne Shane Warne ke leadership mein IPL jeeta tha? Ya phir 2010 mein Deccan Chargers, jo apne aap ko underdog sabit kar ke champion bane? In teams ne dikha diya ki bade naam ya bade budgets hi sab kuch nahi hote. RCB ke paas toh Virat Kohli jaisa superstar hai, phir bhi unka event management itna weak kaise ho sakta hai? Yeh baat dil ko chubhti hai, kyunki fans jo apne dil se team ko support karte hain, unka bharosa tootna nahi chahiye.
Toh kya RCB is waqiye se kuch seekhegi? Nikhil Sosale aur DNA officials ko bail mil gayi, lekin yeh baat khatam nahi hui. Diageo, RCB ka parent company, ab ek internal investigation karne wala hai. Yeh investigation shayad kuch jawab de, lekin jo 11 log apni jaan se gaye, unke parivaar ka dukh kaun kam karega? RCB ne ek “RCB Cares” fund banaya hai injured logon ke liye, aur unhone public apology bhi ki. Lekin yeh sab baatein ab sirf formalities lagti hain. Asli baat toh yeh hai ki aise events ke liye proper planning aur coordination zaroori hai, warna yeh jashn ek tragedy mein badal jata hai, jaise ki Bengaluru mein hua.
Aur ant mein, ek chhoti si baat. Jab bheed mein 3 lakh log hote hain, aur stadium ki capacity sirf 35,000 hai, toh kya koi bhi organiser itna bada risk le sakta hai? RCB ke social media posts ne fans ko bulaya, lekin ticketing ya crowd control ka koi plan nahi tha. Yeh sab dekh ke lagta hai ki RCB ne apne fans ke josh ko samjha, lekin unki safety ko nahi. Ab jab next IPL season aayega, aur Virat ya Smriti Mandhana koi bada shot khelenge, toh kya fans phir bhi “Ee Sala Cup Namde” chillayenge? Ya phir yeh tragedy unke dil mein ek darr bitha degi? Waqt hi batayega, lekin ek baat pakki hai – RCB ko apne aap ko sudharna hoga, warna yeh “Royal” tag sirf naam ka reh jayega.
