Singer Nikhita Gandhi expressed grief and shock after a stampede at a music concert at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in Kochi, Kerala, left four students dead and more than 60 people injured.
Gandhi was scheduled to headline the musical event at the university, but the tragedy occurred shortly before she was due to take the stage.
In a message shared on Instagram, the singer described herself as “heartbroken & devastated” by what had happened.
“Such an unfortunate incident took place before I could even leave for the venue for the performance,” Gandhi wrote, expressing her condolences to those affected by the tragedy.
She added: “No words are possibly enough to express this profound grief. My prayers go out to the families of the students.”
What happened at the CUSAT concert?
The incident took place at an open-air auditorium on the CUSAT campus near Kochi during the university’s annual festival.
According to officials quoted in reports at the time, the venue had a capacity of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people and was only partially occupied when the situation escalated.
The musical programme was scheduled as part of the festival, which was being held from November 24 to November 26, according to the event brochure cited by officials.
The circumstances changed when rain suddenly began during the evening.
Reports said people who had been waiting outside rushed towards the auditorium to seek shelter. The movement through the stairs became chaotic, with some students reportedly slipping and falling, triggering the stampede.
Four students died, dozens were injured
Four students — two boys and two girls — died following the incident.
More than 60 people were reported injured and taken to hospitals, including Kalamassery Medical College Hospital and other medical facilities in the area.
Then Kerala Health Minister Veena George said that four additional students were in critical condition at the time of the initial reports.
The tragedy prompted an immediate emergency response as injured students were transported for treatment.
Senior police officials also addressed the circumstances surrounding the incident. ADGP M.R. Ajith Kumar said the sudden rainfall appeared to have contributed to the rush towards the auditorium.
According to the official account reported at the time, the event was being held in a venue with a stated capacity of around 1,000 to 1,500 people and was not completely filled when the rain began.
Nikhita Gandhi’s concert was cancelled
Gandhi was the scheduled performer for the musical programme. However, the stampede happened before she could arrive at the venue for her performance.
The singer’s public response focused on the students and their families rather than the cancelled concert itself.
The tragedy came at a time when Gandhi was enjoying a prominent period in her playback career. She had lent her voice to several popular Hindi film songs, including Burj Khalifa, Qaafirana and Najaa, and had also contributed vocals to Salman Khan’s Tiger 3.
For the singer, however, the evening became defined not by the scheduled performance but by the loss of young lives at the university event.
Her message of condolence reflected the scale of the tragedy, with Gandhi acknowledging that words could not adequately express the grief following the deaths.
The CUSAT concert stampede remains a tragic incident associated with the university’s 2023 annual festival, in which students lost their lives during what was meant to be a musical celebration.
