Puri Stampede: Odisha Govt Says AI System Failed, Pins Blame on Seven Senior Cops
New Delhi: Over three months after the submission of an internal inquiry report, the Odisha government has reportedly held at least seven senior police officers responsible for the Puri stampede that left three people dead and found that the city’s AI-based Integrated Command and Control Centre failed during the incident.
Hindustan Times first reported that the inquiry, submitted to the state government on July 31, had recommended disciplinary action against several officers for dereliction of duty. Odisha TV later reported that the Home Department has approved action against the named officials.
According to the newspaper, the official probe, led by Development Commissioner Anu Garg, examined the circumstances leading to the June 29 stampede near the Gundicha temple, roughly three kilometres from the main Jagannath temple.
The stampede occurred before dawn as two trucks carrying ritual wood entered Saradhabali, an open ground where an estimated 1,500 devotees had assembled for the Rath Yatra ceremony.
Also read: Puri Rath Yatra: 3 Dead, 50 Injured in Odisha Stampede
The HT report said testimonies from 147 people were recorded during the inquiry. It found that Ajay Kumar Padhi, Commandant of OSAP 3rd Battalion, Koraput, and Vishnu Prasad Pati, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), were absent at the crucial time. Both officers have been suspended, with disciplinary proceedings recommended against them.
Other officials cited for inadequate crowd control include Tapas Ranjan Das, K.K. Nayak, Prasanta Kumar Sahoo, and Susanta Kumar Sahoo, according to the daily. Odisha TV additionally named Sarada Prasad Dash, Commandant of OSAP 3rd Battalion, Chatrapur, among those facing action following the Home Department’s approval.
The newspaper said the report blamed poor crowd management and the failure to block a loaded truck from entering the dense gathering for triggering the stampede. Police personnel were allegedly preoccupied with VIP arrangements, neglecting crowd-safety duties.
The inquiry also criticised the malfunction of the city’s Integrated Command and Control Centre, an artificial-intelligence-based surveillance system meant to monitor crowd movement and traffic through CCTV and drone feeds. The system, the report noted, was unable to provide live visuals from key locations during the event.
Only 123 of the 275 cameras installed under the project were operational, while core analytics such as crowd-density and vehicle-count tools were non-functional. Drone footage was not deployed in line with protocol, and several cameras were either misaligned or inactive, the report said.
The inquiry committee recommended that the operator managing the surveillance network be blacklisted and disciplinary action initiated against officials responsible for its oversight.
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