A major security breach at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium resulted in more than 240 CCTV cameras going offline during an IPL 2026 match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, raising concerns around surveillance reliability at the venue, according to a report by Deccan Herald. The outage affected monitoring across entry gates, concourse areas, the D Corporate Stand and sections around the stadium premises, though officials confirmed the match proceeded without disruption.
Breakdown traced to unauthorised access
Investigators have identified two individuals associated with a subcontracted service provider as being responsible for the incident. The pair are alleged to have entered the CCTV control room without valid authorisation by using a deactivated access card. Once inside, they interfered with core components of the system, including the network video recorder and fibre connections, which led to the loss of camera feeds across multiple parts of the venue.
Surveillance restored after initial disruption
The issue was detected during checks on the morning of the match, after which steps were taken to restore monitoring through backup arrangements. Officials have stated that surveillance was brought back online within a short period, ensuring that match operations and crowd management were not affected.
Akshay M Hakay, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Division), said, as quoted by NDTV Sports: “This happened on the 24th morning, around 11.30 am. Two employees of a sub-distributor entered the stadium and damaged CCTV fibre connections and the video recorder. This was rectified within an hour after it was noticed. Preliminary investigation suggests these two employees had some personal grudge about the company, maybe they had not received their payment, so they committed the act. Both accused have been identified and further action will be taken soon. All CCTVs were active within an hour and it did not have any impact on the match.”
Case registered as probe continues
A formal complaint has been filed at Cubbon Park police station, and an investigation is ongoing to determine the full sequence of events. Early findings indicate the incident may be linked to unpaid dues of approximately ₹10 lakh (approx. US$ 10.6K), with authorities examining whether the act was carried out in response to a financial dispute.
Wider scrutiny on operational safeguards
The breach has drawn attention to access control systems and oversight of third-party personnel involved in stadium operations. With high-attendance fixtures continuing through the IPL season, the incident is expected to prompt a review of existing security measures to prevent similar lapses.
