The fast track court (FTC) in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly on Monday awarded life imprisonment to a man for the August 2023 death of a 4-year-old girl who lived in his neighbourhood and died after touching the iron gate of his house electrified by him to deter children from touching it while playing.
Giving this information, Bareilly additional district government counsel (ADGC), crime, Digambar Patel said the convict Shamsher Ali, 44, developed a disliking for children after his wife left him some years ago.
He said it was discovered during the course of trial that Ali often used to object to children touching his iron gate. The ADGC said the fast track court of additional district and sessions judge-I Ravi Kumar Diwakar pronounced the quantum of punishment for the convict and also slapped a penalty of ₹2 lakh on him.
As per him, the court said the convict had deliberately electrified the gate that cut short the life of the girl. Patel said the court pronounced the judgment and the quantum of punishment after regular hearing in the matter nearly after 17 months after the incident.
“While delivering the judgment, the court also directed the DM and the SSP of Bareilly to launch a comprehensive campaign to curb power theft and remove all open electric wires so that such incidents could be averted in future. He also asked the competent authorities to initiate strictest action against those involved in power thefts that often lead to the opening of electrified wires,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“While delivering the judgment, the court also directed the DM and the SSP of Bareilly to launch a comprehensive campaign to curb power theft and remove all open electric wires so that such incidents could be averted in future. He also asked the competent authorities to initiate strictest action against those involved in power thefts that often lead to the opening of electrified wires,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}As per the ADGC, the incident was reported in Beri lane of Bakarganj locality under Qila police station limits of Bareilly on August 4, 2023, when one Nizamuddin’s daughter Hifza was playing outside her house.
He said Hifza accidentally touched the iron gate of Shamsher Ali’s house and suffered a fatal electric shock. He said Hifza’s uncle Irfan Raza lodged an FIR against Shamsher Ali as the girl’s father Nizamuddin was not in Bareilly and worked as a mechanic in Dubai leading Ali’s arrest.
He said the prosecution managed to prove before the court that the act of the accused was intentional to refrain children from touching his iron gate.