Expert panel to look into Cochin University stampede that claimed 4 lives: Kerala govt

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 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 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.