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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.)

Women Rising

Correspondent
2 hours ago
2 min read

There was a time when an Indian medal at a major sporting event came with an inevitable search for a single hero. Today, the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya are offering a more interesting picture where Indian women are beginning to look less like exceptions and more like a sporting force.


The women’s 4x400m relay gold holds significance beyond the winning of a mere medal. Kiran Pahal, Machettira Poovamma, Prachi Choudhary and Vithya Ramraj clocked 3 minutes 29.69 seconds to beat Bahrain and China, giving India its first athletics gold of the Games. More significantly, it extended India’s extraordinary hold on the event. This was our sixth women’s 4x400m relay gold in the past seven Asian Games.


This consistency is notable. India’s athletics campaign ultimately produced 24 medals including one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze. The broader medal haul suggests that the country’s track-and-field programme is no longer dependent on one or two exceptional performers.


Vithya Ramraj embodies that transition. A day before helping win the relay, she broke one of the longest-standing records in Indian athletics. Her 54.75 seconds in the 400m hurdles erased P.T. Usha’s 55.42-second national record, set in 1984. Ramraj had equalled it at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago. Now, in Nagoya, she has finally moved beyond it.


Today, the Indian athletics story is no longer simply about succeeding a legend. It is about an athlete having enough competitive opportunity, experience and confidence to make an old benchmark look provisional.


Neeru Dhanda became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold in the women’s trap event. She had also been part of India’s silver-winning trap team. Her achievement, alongside the relay victory, the collection of medals than a snapshot of how Indian women are expanding the country’s sporting map.


Dhanda’s achievement is significant for another reason. It broadens the meaning of India’s sporting success. The country’s women’s sporting revolution is no longer confined to the sports that receive the largest television audiences or the most commercial attention.


The relay quartet itself tells another part of the story. Pahal had to overcome resistance to pursuing athletics while Poovamma rebuilt a career after a difficult period. Prachi comes from a farming family and Ramraj is the daughter of an autorickshaw driver. For athletes without an established sporting pedigree, maintaining persistence is a daunting task. Yet, these ladies have triumphed against all odds in the trues sense of the term.


It is also heartening that our sporting culture is becoming less dependent on a handful of famous names and more capable of producing new ones.

There is something particularly apt in the relay win as metaphor. A relay is won by passing a baton. Indian women’s sport appears to be passing something larger: confidence and the presumption that the next medal is no aberration but a real possibility.

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