Kochi City Police Commissioner A Akbar said no official requisition was received from the university for police help.
Published Nov 26, 2023 | 2:14 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2023 | 6:00 PM
CUSAT. (Creative Commons)
The Kerala government on Sunday, 26 November, said it had decided to constitute an expert committee to look into the stampede during the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) annual festival a day ago that claimed four lives and injured at least 60 others.
State Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the expert panel would also frame terms of reference to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Besides that, reports have been called from the university Vice-Chancellor and Principal Secretary of the Higher Education Department regarding the tragic incident, the minister told reporters.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George said on Sunday that the preliminary post-mortem report of the deceased had revealed the cause of death as suffocation.
“60 people, including the four deceased, were brought to the Kalamasserry Medical College hospital on Saturday night. Out of the 56 injured, 32 are now in the ward and three are in the ICU. Two people are in the ICU of the Aster Hospital. Their condition remains serious,” she said.
“18 people sought treatment at the Kinder Hospital, out of whom 16 were discharged. One person who sought treatment at Sunrise Hospital got discharged on Saturday itself,” she said.
She said the organisers were responsible for ensuring adequate preparedness for crowd control when such events were being hosted. She added that any further action would be taken after receiving all the reports.
State Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev said the police had issued advisories to all auditoriums in Ernakulam with regard to crowd control, but educational institutions were not included in them.
He also told reporters that of the four dead, three were students of the university and the fourth was from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, noted singer Nikhita Gandhi, who was to perform at the event, expressed grief over the incident.
“Heartbroken & devasted by what took place this evening in Kochi. Such an unfortunate incident took place before I could even leave for the venue for the performance. No words are possibly enough to express this profound grief. My prayers go out to the families of the students,” she said in an Instagram post.
Kochi City Commissioner of Police (CP) A Akbar said no official requisition was received from the university for police help.
Victims of the CUSAT stampede.
After the inquest proceedings were completed, the bodies of the three students — Athul Thambi, Ann Ruftha and Sara Thomas — were brought to the university campus for people to pay their tributes.
The fourth person who died was Palakkad resident Alwin.
Ann Rufta was an expert in the traditional Latin Catholic art form of Chavittu Nadakam, a traditional dance-drama performance.
Trained under her father, Roy George Kutty, she had played lead roles in several Chavittu Natakam performances, winning appreciation.
A sea of people, including students and the general public, queued outside the hall where the bodies were kept.
Ministers Bindu and Rajeev, former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, and Congress MP Hibi Eden were also present among other political leaders to pay their last respects.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly VD Satheesan and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan condoled the deaths.
“Deeply shocked and grieved to know about the sad demise of four students at a stampede at Cochin University of Science and Technology. Heartfelt condolences to their families. Prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Khan said in a Facebook post.
Satheesan termed the incident heartbreaking, while Muraleedharan said he was shocked and saddened by the deaths.
Alwin’s family said they came to know about his death upon seeing his name on news channels among those who were killed in the incident.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held an emergency meeting at a government guest house in Kozhikode in the wake of the tragedy and condoled the death of students.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
The open-air auditorium on campus, located near the canteen and the Student Amenities Centre, was scheduled to hold a music concert by Nikhita Gandhi when the stampede occurred.
The event, which took place on the final day of the three-day annual Tech Fest, Dhishna, was ticketed. Those who had a gate pass received a black “Dhishna” T-shirt.
According to sources, the gates opened at 5.30 pm, and invitees were told they would close at 7.30 pm.
However, at about 7 pm, severe rain lashed the campus, prompting many gathered outdoors to run into the nearby roofed auditorium. People went over the auditorium stairs during the uproar, causing the stampede, ADGP MR Ajithkumar told reporters.
According to the senior police officer, the auditorium — which has a single access and exit point and a capacity of 2,000 — was only “partly filled” during the rush.
According to estimates, there were approximately 800 individuals inside the auditorium during the rush.
Reports said the crowd included those who did not have the passes. They had gathered outdoors to watch the event.
According to CUSAT Vice-Chancellor PG Sankaran, the institution had informed the police about the programme.
However, as Kochi was hosting a home game of the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, most of the city’s police presence was concentrated in and around the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor.
“The exit and entry through the same gate had caused the stampede,” stated municipal Kalamassery councillor P Pramod.
“As the students were trying to enter through the same gate, those who fell were stomped over by those who rushed in,” he explained.
According to CUSAT VC Sankaran, around 2,500 students from the institution attended the programme on Saturday. Residents and students from adjacent institutions were also present on the campus at the time of the disaster.
(With PTI inputs)
