The celebrations for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) after winning the IPL 2025 title took a tragic turn on Wednesday when a stampede broke out outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, killing at least 11 people and injuring around 50 others. The stampede happened as a large crowd had gathered for a bus parade to celebrate the team’s victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final just the day before.
In response to the incident, four RCB officials, including marketing chief Nikhil Sosale, were arrested. Sosale was detained at Kempegowda International Airport around 6:30 am while he was trying to fly to Mumbai. Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had called for the arrests after a first information report was filed, which included charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Sosale has been heading marketing and revenue for RCB for nearly two years and previously worked at Diageo India, which owns RCB through United Spirits Limited. He’s been part of the company for 13 years and has played a key role in the franchise’s marketing and business strategies. In recent years, he gained attention for being seen alongside Anushka Sharma, Virat Kohli’s wife, in the RCB’s private boxes and is followed by Kohli on Instagram.
Sosale holds a double major from James Cook University in Australia and has been involved with RCB’s plans for a while, possibly having a role in organizing the parade celebrating the team’s first IPL title. Despite the deadly stampede outside, the team continued its celebrations inside the stadium, although they later shortened the program. RCB issued a statement hours after the incident acknowledging the tragic events. The police made the arrests during an overnight operation led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Akshay, and the accused are expected to be transferred to the Crime Investigation Department today.
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