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Ludhiana: 22-yr-old electrocuted to death while taking joyride
In a tragic incident, a 22-year-old man was allegedly electrocuted to death on Wednesday night while taking a ride on the Columbus swing (boat shaped joyride) at the Dussehra Mela being organised at the GLADA ground on Chandigarh Road in Ludhiana
In a tragic incident, a 22-year-old man was allegedly electrocuted to death on Wednesday night while taking a ride on the Columbus swing (boat shaped joyride) at the Dussehra Mela being organised at the GLADA ground on Chandigarh Road.
Inspector Sanjeev Kapoor, station house officer at Moti Nagar police station, said an FIR has been lodged against the contractor of the swing for causing death by negligence. He added that they have asked organisers of the mela to provide details of the contractor. “Police are checking all the rides to ensure that they are following safety norms and if the organiser had obtained all required NOCs and permissions,” said Kapoor.
The victim has been identified as Gagandeep Singh, 22, of Mundian Khurd village. He worked as a share broker.
The victim’s family said Gagandeep had visited the mela with his friends Jaspreet Singh, Pardeep Singh and Daljit Singh. “We were taking a ride on the Columbus swing, when I felt a minor electric shock along with five others. We immediately loosened our grip on metal parts of the joyride, but Gagandeep collapsed. We made the operator stop the ride and informed the police and ambulance,” said Pardeep.
“When no one arrived for around 15 minutes, we rushed Gagandeep to a private hospital in a car, where doctors declared that he was dead on arrival. Meanwhile, police got there and sent the body to civil hospital for postmortem,” he added.
Dr Charan Kamal and Dr Himanshu conducted the postmortem and confirmed that he was electrocuted to death after finding marks on the body indicating the same.
It is learnt that after the Mohali Joyride crash on September 4, the state government has asked all fair organisers to fulfil all safety measures and avail NOCs from all departments concerned.
A day of festivity that ended in tragedy
For Gagandeep Singh, 22, Dusshera started out as a routine festive holiday, which involved a good time with his friends and dinner at his favourite restaurant, before he decided to take a ride on the Columbus swing.
The festivities, however, came to a tragic end, as he was electrocuted to death while taking the joyride. The tragedy has left the family of Gagandeep, who was unmarried and the sole breadwinner, shocked and traumatised.
Even as the police have registered a case of under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code against the contractor, the caretaker of the joyride, Mohammad Shorab, completely shrugged off all responsibility maintained that the victim died of heart attack.
Even as the post mortem report laid bare the tall claim and revealed that the victim died of electrocution, the Columbus swing was operational throughout the day.
Moreover, the victim’s friends too had felt the electric shock, but said it was only minor. Describing the day, Gagandeep’s friend Pardeep said, “After bursting crackers at home, we had dinner at Gole market. We were heading back home at around 9:30 pm, when Gagandeep said he wants take joyrides at the fair where we reached at around 10 pm.”
“As the ride began moving, I felt an electric shock from the handle rod and removed my hand within five seconds. However, Gagandeep collapsed immediately,” he added.
Gagandeep lost his father at the age of nine and is survived by his two elder sisters and mother.
Apart from his interest in the share market, he used to run a grocery shop at his residence in Tibba Colony in Mundian Khurd village. He was also passionate about bodybuilding and was a regular at the gym.
The fair, one of the busiest in the city, sees thousands of visitors from across the city and has over six major rides. Sohrab said they have permission to operate the ride till Sunday.
