Kochi: More than a year after four people lost their lives in a stampede during an annual tech festival at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), the police submitted the charge-sheet at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kalamassery on Saturday.

The charge-sheet names Dipak Kumar Sahoo, then principal of the School of Engineering (SoE), CUSAT, two faculties; Girish Kumaran Thampi and N Biju as the three accused in the case. They have been charged with causing death by negligence.

Thrikkakara ACP Baby PV, who headed the probe team, said that all related probe reports and findings have been included in the charge sheet. "The structural study report of the amphitheatre by the public works department where the incident happened and other findings have been included in the charge-sheet. The probe revealed severe lapses in crowd control and event management and there was a grave oversight on the part of the authorities which led to the tragic incident," said Baby. 

The stampede happened on November 25, 2023 before a musical concert by singer Nikita Gandhi in the open-air auditorium with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,500 people. Three CUSAT students, Athul Thampi (23), Sara Thomas (19) and Ann Rifta Roy (20) and Alwin, an electrician from Palakkad died in the stampede.

An action taken report filed by the police in the Kerala High Court in January 2024 enlisted ten reasons which caused the stampede. The report had pointed out lapses in planning, management and security arrangements. The police were also not informed about the event, although the organisers knew that the event involved massive participation of crowd.

There were nearly 4000 students present during the event, four times the capacity. Restrictions on entry and exit led to congestion and two gates of the auditorium were also locked. The police had also pointed out insufficient security personnel being deployed for crowd management.