Woman electrocuted in west Delhi

The incident appeared to be an almost piece-by-piece repeat of an incident that claimed the life of civil services aspirant Nilesh Rai on July 22 a few kilometres away

A 40-year-old woman was electrocuted to death as she tried to navigate a water-logged street in west Delhi’s Ranjeet Nagar on Friday where the water had come in contact with a live wire.

Seema Devi. (HT Photo)

The incident appeared to be an almost piece-by-piece repeat of an incident that had claimed the life of civil services aspirant Nilesh Rai on July 22 barely a few kilometres away in Patel Nagar – highlighting how city authorities fail to learn from even deadly mistakes.

It is also the 13th death from electrocution in the city this monsoon, according to a count by HT.

Police said they received information at around 1pm reporting the electrocution of a woman, later identified as Seema Devi, who ironed clothes for a living. When police officers reached the spot, they were informed that Devi had been rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where she was declared dead.

According to the statement given to police by Devi’s sister-in-law, who was a few steps behind the victim at 12.30pm, the two were walking back home in Ranjeet Nagar from the local market when the incident occurred.

“The street was flooded due to heavy rainfall. As per the initial investigation, the woman was electrocuted due to the current in water in the street,” the officer said adding.

Her sister-in-law immediately alerted the family members and they took her to the hospital.

Devi is survived by her husband, who works at factory in Anand Parbat, and her two minor children.

Just a few kilometres away on July 22, civil services aspirant Nilesh Rai was electrocuted in a similar incident when he tripped while crossing a puddle and touched a metal gate, which was live.

Residents of Ranjeet Nagar have been grappling with the issue of water-logging for years, they said, adding no action was allegedly taken since the last incident.

“This is a low-lying area and water from Rajendra Nagar and Patel Nagar generally seeps here whenever it rains. Water often gets about five feet deep and it takes several hours to come back to normalcy after the rain stops,” said a 54-year-old local who asked not to be identified.

Civic officials said that the maximum waterlogging complaints on the centralised helpline were related to the South Patel Nagar area on Friday. “We received several complaints from street number 10 in Ranjit Nagar where there was about 6-8 feet of water till afternoon. There were complaints from several neighbouring streets as well. We have been receiving complaints from this area since the first intense spell on June 28,” said an official.

Rising electrocution count

This monsoon has claimed at least 11 lives due to electrocution so far. A 12-year-old boy was electrocuted while playing in a waterlogged street in a DDA colony in Dwarka’s Bindapur on July 31. In another incident the same day, a 28-year-old man was electrocuted at his home in Jaitpur when he stepped out on his terrace to enjoy the rain and came in contact with a live wire.

On July 25, another man – this time a 30-year-old labourer – was killed after he was electrocuted in Karawal Nagar.

Then on June 28, a 39-year-old man was electrocuted in Rohini after brushing past a live wire, again on a waterlogged road. On July 13, a 34-year-old woman was crossing a waterlogged road in Bhajanpura when she got electrocuted. Other electrocution deaths this monsoon included the death of a BSES employee in Dwarka on June 14, while he was trying to fix an electricity pole. On July 20, a constable died after coming in contact with a high-tension wire on a roof in Najafgarh.