A stampede that crushed victory celebrations, a shocking cash van robbery and some chilling murders

The year 2025 for Bengaluru made its date with history for the wrong reasons when it came to law and order, headlined by a tragic stampede that crushed young lives during long-awaited victory celebrations.

What began as a day of celebration after the Indian Premier League (IPL) victory of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the first time in 18 years turned deadly on June 4, 2025 evening, when 11 people- all aged below 40- died, and 56 were injured, when a massive gathering of fans at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium led to chaos and stampede. As the victims and their families struggled to come to terms with the sudden loss, the organisers, the government and various departments broke into a tussle to fix accountability and evade responsibility.

Heads began to roll and in an unprecedented move, the Police Commissioner too was suspended. It reached a point where questions were raised over whether the stadium in the Central Business District should be used at all for big events.

Another major story that made headlines was when a group of men, posing as RBI officials, stole ₹7.11 crore after intercepting a cash van near Ashoka pillar in Siddapura on November 19. The police arrested nine, including constable Annappa Naik, mastermind Gopi (van in-charge) and ex-CMS employee Xavier, recovering ₹7.1 crore (98.6%) after a multi-State chase.

While the rapid recovery showcased the police agility, the case exposed shortcomings in cash logistics protocols and the vulnerability of systems when insiders- from both police and private firms- are compromised. The involvement of a serving constable caused major embarrassment to the police force.

A high profile case that caused ripples in March was the arrest of Kannada film actor and stepdaughter of senior Indian Police Service officer from Karnataka, K. Ramachandra Rao, Ranya Rao. Ms. Rao, 33, was allegedly caught red-handed while trying to smuggle 14.8 kg of gold, worth over ₹12 crore from Dubai, at the Kempegowda International Airport.

The case sent shock waves through the power corridors of Karnataka, even as multiple central agencies joined the probe along with the DRI. The opposition cited a speculative media report that said two Ministers in the State government were linked to the case. The Congress hit back saying 12 acres of land had been allotted by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board to a company led by Rao during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime.

Among the other big stories was that of a general surgeon, Mahendra Reddy, allegedly murdering his wife, dermatologist Kruthika M. Reddy, 28, by injecting a controlled anaesthetic agent restricted to operation-theatre use in multiple organs during “gastritis treatment” at the house of her parents in Marathahalli in April 23. Married on May 26, 2024, her death seemed natural, but her sister Dr. Nikitha’s post-mortem push revealed overdose via FSL tests on organs and seized equipment, leading to his arrest in October. The case raises questions about oversight of restricted anaesthetic drugs in hospital systems.

In another case, Balamurugan, 40, a techie, shot his estranged wife Bhuvaneshwari, 39 — an assistant manager at a bank — four times on the road in Rajajinagar, days after her divorce notice. Minutes after the murder, the accused walked into the Magadi Road Police Station, confessed to the crime and surrendered before the police.

The police also seized drugs estimated to be ₹160 crore, a record in recent times, booked 1,078 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in 2025 and arrested 1,543 individuals, including 52 foreigners, resulting in the seizure of 1,446.75 kg of drugs.

Cyber crimes continued to be reported in Karnataka in 2025, recording 13,000 cases till November end, with losses totalling ₹2,038 crore. While the number of cases declined from the previous year (22,478) the average loss per case increased. Additionally, the recovery rate fell below 10%. More than 80% of these cases were reported in Bengaluru.