Cusat stampede: letter from School of Engineering Principal to Registrar seeking security, police deployment emerges

Kochi police say no alert from Cusat for tech fest security; letter from SoE Principal to Registrar requesting adequate security emerges. Letter dated November 24, 2023, requested deployment of police for two off-campus music programmes. Registrar yet to comment if letter was passed on to police. Three-pronged probe by university, Higher Education dept and police to investigate incident.

Just a day after the Kochi City police said that the organisers of the tech fest conducted by the School of Engineering (SoE) of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) did not alert them or write to them seeking security for the event, a letter written by the Principal of SoE to the university Registrar requesting adequate security and deployment of police has emerged.

Four persons, including three students, were killed and scores injured in a stampede on the second day of Dhishna 2023, the three-day tech fest, on November 25, 2023 evening.

Just six policemen and a control room vehicle were present at the open-air auditorium on the Cusat campus when the stampede happened, which the police attributed to the lack of communication from university authorities asking for police security.

The letter by the SoE Principal to the Registrar had ‘Police and security arrangement during off-campus musical programme’ as its subject. A copy of the letter had also been marked to the head of the department of SoE and the security officer, Cusat.

The letter noted that the programme was confined to the SoE campus except two activities – two musical programme, one in front of the Amenity Centre on Friday, followed by the ill-fated music event that never took place due to the tragedy on Saturday.

“I understand that the students have received permission from the Registrar for these two off-campus activities. These activities have access to the public due to their location. Although I have arranged duties by faculty members for overall discipline, it is essential to deploy adequate security staff and police to avoid untoward incidents,” noted the letter dated November 24, 2023, a day before the tragedy.

The letter was wrapped up with a request to deploy adequate security and police for both the music programmes.