Rain claims more lives in Delhi with deaths of 2 minors

A 13-year-old boy was electrocuted after he touched an iron pipe carrying a live electric wire to a gaushala and a seven-year-old boy drowned in a rainwater puddle after the heavy downpour on Saturday, police said, adding to the unrelenting list of fatalities caused by civic apathy this monsoon

A 13-year-old boy was electrocuted after he touched an iron pipe carrying a live electric wire to a gaushala and a seven-year-old boy drowned in a rainwater puddle after the heavy downpour on Saturday, police said, adding to the unrelenting list of fatalities caused by civic apathy this monsoon.

Police identified the 13-year-old boy as Aditya Raj and registered a case of causing death by negligence against unknown people at the Ranhola police station. (HT Photo)

According to police, the 13-year-old boy was electrocuted while playing cricket with his siblings and friends in Kotla Vihar Phase 2 near Ranhola, and the seven-year-old boy drowned in a park in Rohini Sector 20, when playing with his friends.

Police identified the 13-year-old boy as Aditya Raj and registered a case of death by negligence against unknown people at the Ranhola police station. Investigators are ascertaining if waterlogging around the iron pipe, due to rains, led to an electrical leakage. Deputy commissioner of police Jimmy Chiram said they also trying to establish the ownership of the pole.

An initial probe suggested the wire between the gaushala and a concrete structure was old and was exposed at multiple places. It allegedly belongs to a private cricket academy.

An official from the electricity department claimed that “the discom network, located around 100 metres from the pole, was not involved in the incident.”

“Based on ground reports, the incident occurred within an enclosed private playground when the boy came in contact with a private iron pipe. It appears that the pole had an electrical leakage from an internal wire. The discom network was not involved in the incident. As per DERC regulations, discom supply is only till the metre,” they said.

DCP Chiram said police received a call around 1.30pm from Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital about the boy. “The boy was rushed to the hospital where doctors declared him dead on admission. A first information report (FIR) for death by negligence was registered under section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” he added.

On Sunday, the family members, relatives and neighbours of the boy held a protest in the area, demanding justice and action against those responsible.

Bechan Mahto, the father of the victim, said that his three sons had gone to play cricket around 12.30pm. “Someone called and informed my wife that Aditya suffered an electric shock. My other two sons tried to save him using a wooden stick. They also suffered shock in the process,” Mahto said.

Aditya’s death is the ninth electrocution in the city since the onset of monsoon. On July 24, a 26-year-old IAS aspirant was electrocuted after he tripped while crossing a flooded lane and grabbed an iron gate, which was charged after coming in contact with a live power line.

On July 25, another man, a 30-year-old labourer, was electrocuted in Karawal Nagar. On June 28, when over 200mm of rain lashed Delhi, a 39-year-old man was electrocuted in Rohini after brushing past a live wire on a waterlogged road. On July 13, a 34-year-old woman was electrocuted on a waterlogged road in Bhajanpura. Other electrocution deaths this monsoon include the a BSES employee in Dwarka on June 14 and a constable, who died after coming in contact with a high-tension wire on a roof in Najafgarh on June 23.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said police received a call around 6.30pm on Saturday that a boy drowned in a park in Rohini Sector 20. The child was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. He was identified by his first name as Tarun.

Jaswant Singh Chaudhary, a relative of Tarun, said, “The children were playing in the park when Tarun drowned. The park belongs to DDA. The police informed the family about his death around 8pm.” Chaudhary said the boy is survived by his parents and two siblings.

“The body has been preserved in a government hospital mortuary for autopsy. Necessary legal action has been taken,” Sidhu said.

The incident came to light less than 24 hours after two boys, both aged 17, drowned in a puddle in Prem Nagar.