Royal Challengers Bengaluru legend Virat Kohli has come under fire for allegedly showing no empathy towards victims of the stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Eleven people were killed and dozens injured in a stampede outside the stadium as nearly 300,000 people gathered to celebrate RCB winning the Indian Premier League.
After the Karnataka police filed an FIR against the Karnataka Cricket Board administrative committee, RCB and others in connection with the stampede, four officials from RCB and event management firm DNA were taken into custody.
'Arrest Kohli' was trending on X on Friday, with some netizens alleging that it was at his insistence that the RCB bus parade was held on Wednesday.
Kohli and wife Anushka Sharma were spotted at Mumbai airport, leaving for London on Friday morning.
''Did Virat Kohli meet the family members of the fans who died? Couldn't he have delayed his travel to London to meet the families of those loyal fans? How can he be this inhuman? SHAME ON RCB #ArrestKohli,' Niharika Fraser Stubbs wrote on X.
'We all know who is that senior player who was having rush to go to England. He is responsible for the death of innocent people he should be arrested and rcb should be ban for atleast 2 years. #ArrestKohli #ShameonRCB,' tweeted one Vaibhav Awati.
One Meenakshi Joshi wrote: 'If Allu Arjun can be arrested for stampede at pushpa 2 premiere. Then why are these murderers on loose. #ArrestKohli #RCB #Stampede'.
'Many innocent people died in a stampede here, @imVkohli who earned fame, love, & fortune in India chose to quietly fly to London. No brand should feature this runaway. When the nation mourns, he vanishes. Selfishness isn't stardom,' one Ramesh tweeted.
'One fluke trophy. Zero thought. They demanded parades, and the streets turned red — not with celebration, but with blood. People died. And Kohli? Off to London like nothing happened. This isn't a win. It's a stain. A trophy soaked in tragedy. #ArrestKohli #ShameonRCB,' tweeted one Ajit Kumar.
There were also some fans who showed their support for the underfire RCB legend.
'#ArrestKohli? For what — showing up and leaving after the event? He didn't organise the crowd. Blame the system, not the players. We stand with you, King. #WeLoveYouKohli #ViratKohli', wrote one netizen.
Another person posted: 'Why #ArrestKohli and SHAME ON RCB? that's not his fault. Crowd control was the administration's responsibility. Blame the system, not the player or the team.'
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