The Kerala government on Sunday said that it will constitute an expert committee to probe the stampede incident which took place during the annual festival at Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) leaving at least four students dead and dozens injured on Saturday night.

The university is located in Kalamassery on the outskirts of Kochi.

State higher education minister R Bindu said a three-member inquiry commission will probe the incident and frame guidelines on the precautions to be taken while holding such programmes on campus.

“It has been decided that a three-member inquiry commission comprising experts under the technical education department of the state government should probe the incident that took place on Saturday. Such incidents should not be repeated. The commission will investigate how this incident occurred, whether there were any lapses in the organising of this programme and whether there were adequate arrangements and precautions in place,” Bindu said.

The commission will also have the terms of reference to frame guidelines on the precautions to be taken while organising programmes with large attendance on educational campuses, she said. Such guidelines will be relayed to students across the state to prevent incidents like these in future, the education minister added.

Besides, the minister also demanded to submit reports from the university vice-chancellor and principal secretary of the higher education department regarding the tragic incident.

The minister further held the organisers responsible while ensuring there was adequate preparedness for crowd control when such events were being hosted and said that any further action would be taken after receiving all the reports.

Meanwhile, a case of unnatural death has been registered by the Kalamassery police and an investigation into the incident has been launched.

On Sunday morning, the mortal remains of three students of the university were kept for public homage on the campus after an autopsy. They were identified as Athul Thampi, Ann Ruftha and Sara Thomas. The fourth deceased, Alwin Joseph, was not a student but had come to the campus to watch the concert on Saturday.

Among the 38 injured currently admitted to hospitals, two are in critical condition, said officials. A total of 64 persons were rushed to hospitals on Saturday evening in the aftermath of the stampede.

Four students died, and over 60 were injured in a stampede-like situation during the annual festival on Saturday night. According to the people familiar with the incident, the stampede situation occurred before a concert of playback singer Nikhita Gandhi could begin at the open-air auditorium on the campus of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in Kalamassery on the outskirts of Kochi. The music show was part of the three-day tech fest of the university’s College of Engineering.

Following the incident, singer Nikita Gandhi expressed her heartbreak and devastation in a social media post. She said that the incident took place before she could even leave for the venue for the performance. “Heartbroken and devastated by what took place this evening in Kochi. Such an unfortunate incident took place before I could even leave for the venue for the performance. No words are possible enough to express this profound grief. My prayers go out to the families of the students,” she wrote on Instagram.

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. Vijayan, who chaired the meeting, later announced to cancellation of all cultural and art events planned in connection with the ongoing Nava Kerala Sadas programme in the northern district on Sunday.