Virat Kohli has been in the limelight ever since Royal Challengers Bangalore, the franchise he has been associated with since the inception of the IPL, lifted their maiden trophy after a wait of 18 years in the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League. The win meant everything to Kohli who has endured the test of time and remained loyal to the franchise despite the years of trolling and facing mockery from IPL fans. A few days after the franchise’s triumph, disaster struck in Bengaluru when Kohli, along with his teammates, assembled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to celebrate the much-awaited victory with the loyal fan base that had backed them despite all the setbacks. As the crowd swelled around the stadium, a sea of fans found themselves in a deadly stampede, and 11 people perished as a result. The incident that happened on June 4, a day after RCB’s victory, has led to nationwide outrage and calls to arrest Kohli grew louder with every passing minute. Amid all this, an ‘X’ post by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has surfaced after four years. Here’s why- #ArrestKohli A hashtag that gained momentum on Wednesday on ‘X’ was #ArrestKohli. Kohli had gone from RCB’s hero to villain in 36 hours. As the angered public sought answers for the lives lost during the celebration and the blame game began, reports of police advising to postpone the celebrations to Sunday (June 8) came to light. The advice was reportedly ignored by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), and the state government. “We tried to discourage them, but there was a mad frenzy. The celebrations had continued into the early hours, and our personnel were exhausted,” a senior officer was quoted as saying by Deccan Herald. Also Read: ‘Arrest Kohli’ Hashtag Trends On ‘X’ After Bengaluru Stampede Tragedy, Here’s Why “Though we managed to cancel the victory procession, our request to either confine the celebrations to a single venue or postpone it to Sunday, when emotions would have settled, was ignored,” he further added. Rahul Gandhi’s Post Photos of Kohli snapped at the Mumbai airport were circulated with a message that he was “running away to London”. Amid all the hate and malicious posts the celebrated cricketer was subjected to since the stampede tragedy, a 2021 post by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was shared by those who stood in support of Kohli. “Dear Virat, These people are filled with hate because nobody gives them any love. Forgive them. Protect the team,” Gandhi said in a post. Kohli was at the receiving end of fierce criticism in 2021 after India’s consecutive losses in the World Cup. India had lost their T20 opener to Pakistan and then were outplayed by New Zealand in their second outing. When his teammate Mohammed Shami was attacked over his religion after a loss to Pakistan, Kohli stood with Shami and called out the “spineless trolls” stating that targeting people for their faith was “the most pathetic thing” to do. This directed more hate and vitriol toward Kohli and his family. This tweet is still RELEVANT pic.twitter.com/sfosrYiK5R — . (@chixxreturns) June 6, 2025 Who Is Arrested? A total of six persons have been arrested so far for stampede deaths including Nikhil Sosale of RCB management and Sunil Mathew of the event management company DNA. Also Read: Bengaluru Stadium Stampede: RCB, Event Management Company Officials Among 6 Arrested Two employees of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), working at the ticket counter were also taken into custody. Additionally, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suspended Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and three other senior police officials in connection with the stampede case.