The Devi Lairai temple in Shirgao.
PANAJI
Close to a year after the first-ever stampede at the revered Shree Devi Lairai zatra plunged Goa into mourning, the State government has yet to initiate any visible disciplinary or criminal action against officers indicted by its own high-level fact-finding committee. The past comes to haunt the authorities as the annual festival returns in two days under heightened safety arrangements.
No action beyond transfers
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the government moved swiftly on the public front — State events were cancelled during the mourning period, financial assistance was promptly announced for the families of those killed and the injured, and a high-profile inquiry was constituted to ascertain responsibility. But beyond those early steps, the official response has seemingly stalled.
No First Information Report has been registered. No suspensions have been ordered. No departmental penalties have been publicly disclosed. Instead, the only action taken so far has been the routine transfer of the eight senior officers whose roles came under scrutiny.
Of those transferred, two IAS and IPS officers were moved out of Goa to postings in another State, while another officer has been promoted, recalling questions over accountability in a disaster that the government’s own inquiry later described as “entirely preventable.”
‘Entirely preventable’ tragedy
The State-appointed fact-finding committee had squarely held several officials responsible for lapses in planning, coordination and crowd management that allegedly contributed to the disaster.
Those named in the report included former North Goa Collector Sneha Gitte, former North Goa Superintendent of Police Akshat Kaushal, then Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi, former Deputy Collector Bhimnath Khorjuvekar, former Bicholim Police Inspector Dinesh Gadekar, the then Mopa Police Station Inspector and the panchayat secretary, among others.
After this, all eight officers were transferred from their respective posts and served show-cause notices. By June, the officers had submitted their replies to the Chief Secretary. At the time, the Chief Secretary had told The Goan that the responses would be examined before any disciplinary proceedings were initiated. Months later, however, there has been no word on what action, if any, was taken.
A government source confirmed that the disciplinary panel headed by the Chief Secretary had made no meaningful progress so far. Police sources separately said that no FIR has been registered in connection with the incident till date.
The committee’s report had delivered one of the sharpest official indictments in recent memory. “The stampede was entirely preventable,” the report said, pointing to a chain of systemic failures — poor planning, weak enforcement, disregard of earlier directions and inadequate infrastructure.
Based on field inspections and testimonies from eyewitnesses, injured devotees, organisers, magistrates and police personnel, the panel concluded that the tragedy arose from a convergence of avoidable lapses and oversight by several authorities.
Crowd control ignored
It also criticised festival organisers, the district administration and police officials for allegedly failing to study past incidents and for not putting in place adequate precautionary measures for crowd control during the high-risk ritual.
While the government has remained tight-lipped, the Shree Devi Lairai Devasthan Committee -- which was also held accountable in the inquiry — introduced a series of preventive measures to avert a repeat.
Among the most significant reforms is the mandatory registration of Dhonds, the barefoot devotees who participate in the fire-walking ritual and constitute the largest movement of crowds during the zatra.
Temple authorities said the move was intended to improve crowd mapping, regulate entry points and strengthen safety protocols. The response, they said, has been unprecedented. With this, extensive arrangements have also been undertaken by the government and police.
