Boy falls in ditch, electrocuted by open wire
A 12-year-old boy died after he fell in a ditch ,allegedly being dug by the Public Works Department (PWD), and was electrocuted by an open live wire, reports HT Correspondent.
A 12-year-old boy died after he fell in a ditch ,allegedly being dug by the Public Works Department (PWD), and was electrocuted by an open live wire.
The incident took place at Seemapuri in Northeast Delhi on Friday where the ditch was being dug to install streetlights as part of a Commonwealth Games project.
According to police, the boy, Mohammed Shakeel, was going to his house when he accidentally fell into the ditch on the road in front of Seemapuri bus depot and touched a live wire.
The police said streetlights were being installed and workers could have accidentally left the wire uncovered.
Senior BSES officials said they did not have anything to do with the live wire as the whole project was being handled by the PWD.
“Shakeel was going back to after playing cricket with his friends in a park. When he was crossing the road, he jumped on the divider,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
“As there were small pits on the divider due to installation of streetlights, he fell in one of the pits and came in contact with the live wire.”
Shakeel was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead, added the officer.
Soon after the incident, Shakeel’s friends started shouting after which local residents gathered at the spot.
Shakeel’s father Mohammed Sheru is a fruit vendor and has 11 children. The deceased was the fourth child.
Sheru, who was at the Seemapuri police station, said: “A local resident called me and said my son has touched a live wire and had been taken for treatment. However, the police told me that he had died.”
The police said that a case under section 304A (negligence) was registered at the Seemapuri police station against unknown agency.
“We are probing who is at fault, the engineers or contractor. After investigations, names would be added,” said the officer.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast), S.S. Yadav said: “We are probing the role of contractors and engineers and it has been learnt that the PWD was replacing streetlights at the site.”
PWD chief engineer (maintenance) Vinay Kumar could not be contacted for comments as he repeatedly disconnected our calls.