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By:

Dr. Keshav Kumar

3 February 2025 at 7:36:17 am

The Science of Gait Analysis

As facial recognition reaches its limits, the science of how we walk is emerging as a powerful new tool in forensic investigation. In today’s world, where surveillance cameras are present everywhere, identifying a suspect is no longer restricted to only fingerprints and facial recognition. Modern forensic science has shown that the way a person walks provides valuable evidence during a criminal investigation. This unique walking pattern, known as gait, has emerged as a valuable behavioural...

The Science of Gait Analysis

As facial recognition reaches its limits, the science of how we walk is emerging as a powerful new tool in forensic investigation. In today’s world, where surveillance cameras are present everywhere, identifying a suspect is no longer restricted to only fingerprints and facial recognition. Modern forensic science has shown that the way a person walks provides valuable evidence during a criminal investigation. This unique walking pattern, known as gait, has emerged as a valuable behavioural biometric. By analysing gait from CCTV footage, forensic experts help investigators identify suspects, particularly when other methods of identification are unavailable. This makes gait analysis useful in cases involving masked offenders like kidnappings, murders, robberies, terrorist attacks and other crimes captured on surveillance cameras. Although gait analysis is now an important forensic tool, it originated in the medical field, where doctors studied walking patterns to diagnose movement disorders. Over time, researchers discovered that every individual has unique walking patterns, influenced by their age, height, body structure, injuries, habits, and footwear. Advances in video technology, computer-based analysis, and artificial intelligence have transformed gait analysis into an important scientific tool in criminal investigations. Notable Cases India has witnessed several notable cases in which gait analysis played a key role in criminal investigations. One of the most notable examples is the 2021 Saki Naka rape and murder case in Mumbai. The CCTV footage captured the accused's body movements near the crime scene. As facial recognition alone was insufficient, forensic experts compared the accused's walking patterns with the individual seen in the footage. The gait analysis report, along with CCTV evidence, witness statements and other findings, strengthened the prosecution’s case. Rather than serving as a standalone proof, gait analysis acted as corroborative evidence. Recently, during the investigation of the 2026 Ketan Agarwal murder case in Pune, investigators compared the accused’s gait with CCTV footage, as the suspect’s face was allegedly hidden with a hoodie. Investigators recreated the suspect’s walk under similar conditions to compare it with CCTV footage, highlighting how gait analysis is becoming a valuable investigative source in India when traditional methods of identification are limited. In State of Tamil Nadu v. Ponnusamy (2026 INSC 507), the Supreme Court observed that Gait analysis is a useful scientific technique for identifying suspects; however, the court also clarified that gait analysis should not be treated as the only evidence but rather should be used alongside CCTV footage, witness testimony, and other forensic findings. This approach encourages the use of scientific evidence while protecting the fairness and credibility of the judicial process. Recent scientific research highlights advanced forensic gait analysis through artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning. Unlike fingerprints or facial features, gait can remain useful even when a suspect’s face is concealed or the image quality is poor. By examining factors such as stride length, walking speed, body movement and the timing of each step, experts can identify patterns that may help establish whether two video recordings show the same individual. Modern systems combine spatiotemporal and biomechanical gait measurements for analysing walking patterns, even from low-quality CCTV footage, which makes gait analysis faster, more accurate, and increases its value in criminal investigation. The growing importance of forensic gait analysis highlights the work of experts and institutions across the world. In India, experts such as Dr. T.D. Dogra and Dr. B.R. Sharma made remarkable contributions in the field of forensic science. Internationally, Professor Mark S. Nixon pioneered gait recognition research. Government organisations such as the Directorate of Forensic Science Services (DFSS), Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs), and the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), along with private organisations like Truth Labs, support research and the use of modern forensic technologies in criminal investigations. As forensic science continues to emerge, gait analysis opens up with new possibilities in solving crimes and delivering justice. While it only serves as one piece of the puzzle, it provides valuable clues when used with other evidence. After all, every step has a story to tell, and sometimes, that story leads investigators to the truth. (Writers are experts in forensic matters. Views personal.)

Choking Mumbai

Correspondent
Apr 22, 2025
2 min read

For decades, Mumbai was perceived as a rare urban oasis, where the saline sweep of the Arabian Sea blunted the worst ravages of India's air pollution. That illusion has now been dispelled. A meticulous four-year study by Respirer Living Sciences (RLS), using data from its AtlasAQ platform, reveals the bleak truth that the city’s air is thick with pollutants all year round, with no ‘clean season’ left.


Mumbai’s annual average levels of PM10 (particulate matter ten microns or less in diameter) have consistently breached the national safety threshold of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³). This is not merely a seasonal malaise tied to cooler winter months, as once assumed. Alarmingly, the city’s pollution levels persist even through the hot season, a time when improved atmospheric dispersion should offer natural reprieve.


Across the city - from Chakala in Andheri East to Deonar, Kurla, Vile Parle West and Mazgaon - pollution has become an unrelenting, ubiquitous presence.


The culprits are well known: traffic emissions from a burgeoning number of vehicles; unregulated dust from frenzied construction; industrial activity in and around the ports; and a conspicuous lack of dust control measures. Mumbai’s ceaseless growth now risks becoming a chronic liability.


Worryingly, the regulatory response remains sluggish. Mumbai’s urban planning continues to treat clean air as a peripheral concern, not a foundational necessity. Development plans rarely integrate environmental impact assessments in a meaningful way.


A sharper, citywide strategy is urgently needed. Dust suppression rules at construction sites must be enforced strictly, with financial penalties for violators and incentives for best practices. Traffic management systems should be overhauled to ease congestion and encourage the use of public transport. Expansion of clean, reliable mass transit network needs to be urgently prioritised. In addition, comprehensive real-time air monitoring at the ward level should be deployed, enabling authorities to respond to localised pollution spikes swiftly rather than relying on citywide averages that conceal dangerous hotspots.


Longer-term, clean air targets must be hardwired into the city’s master planning and transport policies. Green buffers along major traffic corridors, stricter emission norms for commercial vehicles and incentives for rooftop gardens and urban afforestation could all play a part. Industrial zones near port areas should be subjected to rigorous air quality compliance measures, not token self-certifications. Private developers and large infrastructure firms, often among the worst offenders, must be made stakeholders in the clean air mission through binding regulations.


Mumbai’s commercial dynamism - as a magnet for migrants, entrepreneurs and investors - depends not just on glittering skyscrapers but on something far more basic: the ability to breathe. Unless clean air becomes an unshakeable priority, the city risks suffocating its own future. For a metropolis that prides itself on its resilience against terror attacks, monsoon floods and economic shocks, the real test will be whether it can muster the will to fight an invisible, pervasive enemy slowly corroding the lives of its 20 million citizens.

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