17-year-old electrocuted at packed Kalkaji temple in Delhi

The electrocution, which took place around 12.30am, was caused by a live wire – being used to install halogen floodlights

A 17-year-old boy was electrocuted to death at the Kalkaji temple complex in south Delhi, resulting in a stampede that left at least six people wounded early on Thursday, at a time when the temple was packed with hundreds of devotees on the first day of Navratri, police said.

Mayank Sharma. (HT Photo)

The electrocution, which took place around 12.30am, was caused by a live wire – being used to install halogen floodlights at the temple as part of the arrangements for Navratri – that broke off and came in contact with iron railings being used to manage queues of devotees, police officers aware of the case said.

At the time, the temple was packed with devotees who had come from various parts of Delhi and surrounding areas to ignite a “holy flame (akhand jyot)” from the temple and take it back to their pandals, homes, etc to mark the start of Navratri, the officers cited above said.

A first information report (FIR) regarding the incident was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery), 125(9) (act endangering life and personal safety of others), and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) at the Kalkaji police station against the organisers of the event, said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Rajesh Deo.

DCP Deo said police received a call at 12.40am reporting that a devotee had come in contact with a live wire at the merging point of Ram Pyau and Lotus Temple in the Kalkai Mandir Complex and that some people were injured in the incident. The police personnel deployed in security and crowd control around the temple were rushed to the incident spot.

“A total of seven people were found injured there. The electricity supply of the affected area was disconnected and the injured people were rescued. Four of them were admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, while the other three were rushed to Safdarjung Hospital… One of the injured persons, identified as Mayank Sharma,17, from Ghaziabad, was declared dead at Safdarjung,” said the DCP, and added that the other injured people were discharged after medical attention.

The police said that experts from the electricity department and the crime scene investigation team were called to the mishap spot for inspection. During the inquiry, investigators found that the electric wire used for installing the halogen lights snapped, and came in contact with an iron railing, they said.

“The teenager got electrocuted when he touched the railing. Some other people also suffered minor electric shocks… As the area was packed with devotees, a commotion broke out as everyone tried to leave the area in a rush, leading to a stampede in which six people were injured. For some minutes, there was chaos all around,” said a police officer, who asked not to be named.

The police said that the dead teenager had come to the Kalkaji temple with his family members to offer prayers on the first day of the Navratra. He was a Class 9 student at Greenfield Academy in Noida. He is survived by his parents and three siblings. His father is a plumber by profession, the DCP said.

“After the wiring was repaired, the electricity supply of the area was restored and the darshan (viewing of the inner sanctum) was resumed. We have registered a case and will question the organisers to fix responsibility of the person whose negligence led to the mishap that claimed a teenager’s life and left six others injured,” added Deo.

Temple officials, however, stressed that they had made “sufficient” arrangements based on the crowd size. “What happened was very unfortunate. However, we always attempt to manage the rush during festivals. We were expecting a huge crowd during Navratri and have had 400-500 volunteers deployed daily for the past two days,” said the temple official.

This is the second tragic incident at the Kaklaji temple since January that led to the death of a devotee. On January 28, a 45-year-old woman died and 17 people, were injured after an elevated platform set up for VIPs collapsed during the performance of a singer. Soon after the stage collapse incident, a stampede-like situation prevailed at the temple complex, where 1,500 to 1,600 devotees were present.