Stampede at CUSAT Campus: Students pay tearful tribute to deceased
Students paid tearful tributes to the deceased of Cochin University stampede outside the hall where their bodies were kept.
Kochi: The Kerala government has announced the formation of an expert committee to investigate the stampede during Cochin University’s annual festival, which claimed four lives and left over 60 injured. Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded as a sea of people, including students and the general public, paid tearful tributes to the deceased outside the hall where their bodies were kept.
State Higher Education Minister R Bindu revealed that the government has decided to establish an expert committee to investigate the tragic incident.
The committee will also formulate terms of reference to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Ministers Bindu and Rajeev, former Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, and Congress MP Hibi Eden were among the political leaders present to pay their last respects.
The bodies of the deceased, including university students Athul Thambi, Ann Ruftha, Sara Thomas, and outsider Alwin, were brought to the university campus for tributes.
State Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev mentioned that advisories on crowd control were issued to all auditoriums in Ernakulam by the police, but educational institutions were not included.
Kochi City Police Commissioner A. Akbar stated that no official requisition for police help was received from the university.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan expressed their deep condolences.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held an emergency meeting to address the tragedy, while Rahul Gandhi conveyed condolences to the bereaved families.
The stampede occurred just before renowned singer Nikita Gandhi was scheduled to perform at a musical festival in the open-air auditorium of CUSAT near Kochi.
Of the injured, two individuals are in critical condition in a private hospital’s ICU, and three others are in the ICU of the Kalamassery government medical college hospital, with 31 in stable condition in the general ward.
Nikita Gandhi expressed her devastation on Facebook, noting that the incident happened before she could even leave for the performance.
#WATCH | Kerala | Bodies of three of the deceased kept at CUSAT for students to pay tribute.
Four students died and several others were injured in a stampede at CUSAT University in Kochi yesterday. The accident took place during a music concert that was held in the open-air… pic.twitter.com/3JcQWy5L9z
— ANI (@ANI) November 26, 2023
Ms Kalinga