Out of place high-tension wires kill child in Delhi, case filed

The incident took place on Wednesday in Jhangola neighbourhood when the toddler, Vanshdeep Singh was playing, said police

A two-and-a-half-year-old boy was electrocuted on the terrace of his house in Alipur, on Delhi’s northern fringe, after he touched a low-hanging high-tension wire, police said on Thursday, once again underscoring the city’s brittle and hazardous public infrastructure, which has claimed more than 40 lives in such incidents this year alone.

Vanshdeep Singh. (HT Photo)

Senior police officers said the wire was “hanging too low” and that an official of the transmission company concerned was booked. However, they did not reveal the name of the firm in question.

The incident took place on Wednesday in Jhangola neighbourhood when the toddler, Vanshdeep Singh was playing, said police.

His parents were distraught.

“My boy is gone. I wanted to send him to school. He was everything for me. What do I do now?” said Kiran Singh, the boy’s father.

The national capital has been rocked by a string of such deaths this year, a bulk of them during monsoon, exposing its collapsing infrastructure, which is worsened by administrative apathy and a glut of agencies that refuse to take responsibility. To be sure, most of these deaths were triggered by waterlogging and Wednesday’s incident was due to a high-tension wire.

Police and his parents said he was running around on the terrace of their two-storey home when they heard him screaming and saw his body engulfed in flames.

A senior police officer said, “The high-tension wire is a hand’s reach from their terrace. The wires are too low. The current was so strong that it set his body on fire.”

He was rushed to a local hospital at 1pm and doctors there referred him to Safdarjung hospital. Vanshdeep suffered 80% burns and died hours later.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer north) Nidhin Valsan said Safdarjung informed them about the incident early on Thursday.

“The wire was hanging too low,” said Valsan.

“We have registered a case and a post-mortem examination is being conducted. We have booked an official of the transmission company and are conducting an inquiry,” said Valsan.

A first information report was filed against an unnamed official under section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police refused to share the name of the official or the company involved.

Vanshdeep’s family said the high-tension wire was “always” a problem and alleged that civic agencies and officials with the transmission company turned down their complaints.

In July, a 26-year-old man was electrocuted after touching an iron gate during heavy rain in Patel Nagar. The gate was electrocuted due to an exposed motor wire.

On August 23, a man was electrocuted when the rainwater that flooded his home came in contact with a live wire; in the second instance, at around 1pm a woman was electrocuted as she tried to navigate a waterlogged street in west Delhi. Both were 40.

Authorities have, however, done little to address what has become a recurrent hazard.

The Delhi government did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the matter.

Vanshdeep’s mother, Simranjeet Kaur, and aunts said they also suffered electric shocks in the past. The family moved to Jhangola village from Punjab nearly a decade ago.

Singh said they did not allow Vanshdeep to visit the terrace, and that he jumped there from the neighbour’s house on Wednesday. Police confirmed this sequence of events.

“I was working outside when I heard his mother screaming. We didn’t allow him on our terrace. We knew he would touch the wires. He was playing at our neighbour’s house and went to their terrace. From there, he jumped to ours. The wall between the houses is three-feet tall. We don’t know how he scaled it.”

At a loss for words, Singh remembered that his youngest son got into trouble for stealing candy from his friends.

“I don’t know what to do. I am clueless…He was a naughty boy. He would often steal toffees from his friends and get into trouble.”

Vanshdeep had two other siblings.

“When I rushed to see him on the terrace, his body was charred. I touched him and felt an electric shock. His brother, who also tried helping, also suffered a shock. We rushed him to two hospitals but he died. When will the transmission company fix their mistake?” he said.

Singh is a farmer and lives with his parents and brothers.

HT accessed a photo of the terrace which shows the wires right above the house.

Senior officials said the Tata Power DDL supplies power in north and northwest ranges of Delhi. However, they said high-tension wires are generally under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL).

DTL however said the area was not in their jurisdiction and declined to comment.