Cops remain on toes as huge crowds throng route of Indian team's victory parade

Mumbai Police remained on their toes all through Thursday evening and faced some anxious moments as there was a stampede-like situation at several places along the route of the victory parade of the T-20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team through South Mumbai.

About a dozen children went missing in the crowd but they were reunited with their parents, while four to five persons were admitted to hospital after they fainted or took ill otherwise, officials said.

While both lanes of Marine Drive road were jam-packed, people were seen clearing the way for an ambulance. Mumbai Police posted a video of the heartwarming scene on X and praised the spirit shown by the cricket fans.

"Siren Bajta gaya, Rasta banta gaya" (as the siren blared, the road cleared), read the caption to the video.

Another video, aired by a local news channel, showed a policeman trying to carry a girl who had fainted on his shoulder, but struggling to push his way out in the throng.

Police had deployed a large number of personnel and made elaborate security arrangements between Marine Drive and Wankhede Stadium to avoid any untoward incident, said an official.

As crowds pressed around the bus carrying the victorious cricket team from the NCPA to Wankhede stadium, there was a stampede-like situation at some points but police averted it, he said.

People were frisked as they entered Wankhede Stadium. Policemen in plain clothes were also stationed at some spots, the official added.

Western Railway announced that it would run an extra service for Borivali around 9.30 pm to clear the extra rush.

More than 400 Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police personnel were deployed for crowd management at Churchgate station but no untoward incident was reported, said a senior RPF official.

The situation was chaotic at the Central Railway's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus as many train services were delayed.

Hundreds of vehicles were stuck in traffic at Marine Drive and on nearby roads since the evening.

Fans wearing the blue jersey of the Indian team and chanting slogans like `Bharat Mata Ki Jai', `Jitega Bhai Jitega, India Jitega', `Jai Sriram' and `Vande Mataram' could be seen along a stretch of almost two kilometers.

The victory parade started near NCPA, at the southern tip of Marine Drive, around 7. 45 p.m. As the bus inched towards Wankhede Stadium, it was escorted by hundreds of police personnel.