As investigations into the Bengaluru stadium stampede continue, Karnataka’s Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), Hemant Nimbalkar, has been transferred without a new posting, sources told News18 on Friday.
Nimbalkar, a 1998-batch IPS officer, was appointed as ADGP (Intelligence) by the Karnataka government just last year. His sudden transfer comes amid increasing administrative and political pressure following the stampede outside Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which left 11 people dead and many injured.
The Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government has yet to issue an official statement regarding Nimbalkar’s transfer or announce a replacement for the post.
Notably, Hemant Nimbalkar is married to senior Congress leader Anjali Nimbalkar, who unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
In another development related to the stampede’s aftermath, Karnataka CM’s political advisor, Govindaraj, has been dismissed from his position. Sources say Govindaraj, who also heads the state Olympic association, was the key figure who pressured the Chief Minister to hold the event at Vidhana Soudha.
This move follows a series of suspensions related to the tragedy, which is now being investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
On Thursday, CM Siddaramaiah had ordered the suspension of Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda, along with several other senior police officers, in connection with the incident.
Soon after Dayananda’s suspension, IPS officer Seemanth Kumar Singh was appointed as the new City Police Commissioner of Bengaluru.
The Chief Minister also had ordered the suspension of Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Vikash Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekar H. Tekkannavar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cubbon Park) C Balakrishna, and Cubbon Park police station Inspector A K Girish.
