Retired judge of Kerala high court, justice M R Hariharan Nair, will probe the Pulmedu stampede tragedy that claimed the lives of 102 Sabarimala pilgrims on January 14.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet here last evening, official sources said.

Soon after the tragedy, the government had announced a judicial probe into the circumstances of the mishap and sought the services of a sitting high court judge.

However, the high court recently conveyed its difficulty in making available the services of a sitting judge for conducting the inquiry.

The tragedy occurred along the forest trekking route between Sabarimala and Vandiperiyar when the pilgrims were rushing back after offering prayers at the hill shrine on 'makara samkranthi' day on January 14, which marked the finale of the annual pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa temple.

Most of the victims belonged to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.