Delhi railway station electrocution: Govt negligence killed Sakshi, says family

Sakshi Ahuja, a 35-year-old teacher and freelance architect, was electrocuted just outside New Delhi railway station

For 35-year-old Sakshi Ahuja and her family, especially her two children, the upcoming summer vacation trip was more exciting than ever as it was also the first time that the would travel in the Delhi-Chandigarh Vande Bharat express. To Chandigarh, and then to the mountains in Himachal Pradesh, the family had planned the entire trip starting on a rainy Sunday.

Sakshi Ahuja, whose children are only nine and seven-year-old, used to teach at Lovely Public School in Priyadarshini Vihar near her house in Preet Vihar, police said. (ANI)

The plan, however, never took off.

Sakshi was electrocuted, in front of her children, just outside the New Delhi railway station when she unknowingly stepped on to a waterlogged stretch where there was a loose live wire -- a tragedy, that many said was waiting to happen, as blame was pinned on the collective negligence of multiple agencies.

The tragedy could be prevented had those responsible for the railway station and electrical poles done their job, shocked relatives said at the mortuary, where they came to collect the body after postmortem examination.

“The children were very excited, as they were about to travel in the Vande Bharat train for the first time. The seats were also booked just two days ago. But the negligence of the railway and other authorities claimed our loved one’s life. What was Sakshi’s fault? Who will take the responsibility for her death, and will anybody be punished for this murder?,” asked Sakshi’s aunt Indu, as she broke into tears.

Her family said that the holiday trip was due for a month as the summer vacations had already started in schools in May. Sakshi was also taking along her parents, who are retired government officials, and two siblings — a younger sister and brother.

Her parents and brother had gone to park their car when the tragedy took place. Sakshi, along with her children and sister, was walking towards the main entrance of the station. But the entire area was flooded with rainwater, so they stepped onto a concrete divider to avoid getting drenched. Taxi operators who saw the incident said that Ahuja suffered electric shock either due to her stepping into the water or while holding one of the electric poles.

They said they used wooden sticks and belts to pull Sakshi out of the water for a painfully long 25 minutes. When they finally did, Sakshi had died by then.

Expressing his anger over the tragic death, her uncle, Ajay Chopra, said, “The government makes tall claims about high-tech railway services to the public. The walking areas at the New Delhi railway station, one of premier stations in India, got flooded with rainwater and claimed the life of a passenger by electrocution. Is this the high-class public transport system the government promotes? We send our children to railway stations for travelling and not for getting killed. The responsibility of my niece’s death must be fixed.”