Expert panel to look into Cochin University stampede that claimed 4 lives: Kerala govt
Kochi (PTI): The Kerala government on Sunday said it has decided to constitute an expert committee to look into the stampede during Cochin University's annual festival a day ago that claimed four lives and injured over 60 others.
State Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the expert panel will also frame terms of reference to prevent 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 here.
She said the organisers were responsible for ensuring there was adequate preparedness for crowd control when such events were being hosted.
She said any further action would be taken after receiving all the reports.
State Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev said police had issued advisories to all auditoriums in Ernakulam with regard to crowd control, but educational institutions were not included in the same.
He also told reporters that of the four dead, three were students of the university and the fourth was an outsider.
Meanwhile, Kochi City Police Commissioner A Akbar said no official requisition was received from the university for police help.
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.
A sea of people, including students and the general public, were 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 state assembly V D 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 CochinUniversity 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 as 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 about those who died in the incident.
Officials said the stampede occurred before renowned singer Nikita Gandhi was to perform at a musical festival in the open-air auditorium of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) near Kochi.
They also said that of the injured, two people were in critical condition and in the ICU of a private hospital. Besides them, three others were in ICU of the Kalamassery government medical college hospital and 31 were in the general ward there. All of them were in stable condition, they said.
Following the incident, Nikita Gandhi expressed her heartbreak and devastation in a Facebook post.
She had said that the incident took place before she could even leave for the venue for the performance.
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.
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Bengaluru jail introduces biometric tracking system for prisoners
Bengaluru: In a bid to curb misconduct and illegal activities inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, prison authorities have introduced a new ‘Prisoners Tracking Movement System’ under which inmates will have to undergo biometric verification while entering every barrack.
According to jail officials, biometric systems have been installed across all major sections of the prison, including barracks, visitor rooms, hospital, canteen, kitchen, library, playground, handicraft units and bakery sections. Staff members have also been deployed at these locations.
Officials said inmates visiting the visitors’ room must now obtain a digital token after biometric verification. Details such as the prisoner’s name, identification number and entry time will be updated in the prison software system. This will help authorities maintain a complete digital record of inmates visiting and returning from meeting rooms.
Similar systems have also been introduced at entry points of the hospital, library and other barracks accessed for work-related purposes. Officials said the system will help identify prisoners involved in suspicious or illegal activities with other inmates and enable authorities to track how much time a prisoner spends at different locations inside the prison.
Authorities stated that AI-powered cameras were already being used inside the prison to monitor inmates as well as prison staff. Along with this, digital tracking of prisoner phone calls and a digital token system for visitor meetings have now been added to strengthen surveillance over inmate movement. Officials said the project has been implemented at a cost of around Rs 2.25 crore.
The prison department has also introduced a canteen usage tracking system to monitor prisoners’ spending patterns. Instead of direct cash payments, inmates can purchase bakery items and snacks using wallets or coupons issued within the prison system.
Officials said the digital system will record details including the buyer’s name, items purchased, quantity, date, time and remaining wallet balance. This will allow prison authorities to maintain complete expenditure records of inmates.
