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Balrampur girl’s death: DJ owner, operator arrested; outpost in-charge suspended
Balrampur ASP Vishal Pandey said Mewalal outpost in-charge Shailendra Kumar Yadav was suspended for alleged supervisory lapses, while Kotwali Nagar inspector Santosh Kumar Mishra was served a show-cause notice. The action was taken on the directions of SP Martand Prakash Singh.
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Balrampur police on Wednesday arrested the owner and operator of a DJ system in connection with the death of a seven-year-old girl who collapsed inside her classroom as a Ganesh idol immersion procession accompanied by loud music passed near her school on Monday (September 21), officials said.
The arrests came as police stepped up their probe into the circumstances surrounding Vaishnavi Tiwari’s death, preserving CCTV footage and seizing the DJ vehicle and sound equipment to establish the sequence of events and examine whether prescribed noise limits were violated, they added.
Balrampur ASP Vishal Pandey said Mewalal outpost in-charge Shailendra Kumar Yadav was suspended for alleged supervisory lapses, while Kotwali Nagar inspector Santosh Kumar Mishra was served a show-cause notice. The action was taken on the directions of SP Martand Prakash Singh.
Recounting the incident, Pandey said Vaishnavi, a Class 2 student, collapsed at Divine Public School around 10:58 am on Monday while attending class.
“According to the school management, she appeared normal before suddenly falling from her seat. She briefly recovered but collapsed again and did not respond to attempts by teachers to revive her. She was taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead. The immersion procession was passing near the school around the same time,” he said.
“Iqra Khan, a teacher, told police that the DJ sound intensified and vibrations could be felt inside the classroom when Vaishnavi’s condition deteriorated,” he added.
Pandey said police registered an FIR at Kotwali Nagar police station on Wednesday on a complaint by school manager Ashish Kumar Upadhyaya and arrested Balaji Hi-Tech DJ owner Chandra Prakash Verma and operator Rampal Saini. He said the two were booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 223 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police seized the pick-up vehicle and the DJ sound system and other equipment allegedly used during the procession. Investigators are examining whether the equipment was operated in violation of prescribed noise limits or other conditions governing religious processions.
According to police, CCTV footage from the school and surrounding area shows Vaishnavi sitting in class before she collapsed and briefly recovered before falling again.
Investigators are examining the footage to establish when the procession reached the school, how the DJ system was being operated and what happened immediately before and after the collapse. Witness statements, available medical information and the seized equipment are also being examined.
Officials clarified that police had not attributed Vaishnavi’s death to the DJ sound. No post-mortem examination was conducted, leaving doctors without a definite medical cause of death.
An official said the CCTV footage could establish the sequence of events and not determine the medical cause of death.
DJs asked to follow noise norms
Police subsequently held a meeting with DJ operators and directed them to comply with prescribed noise limits and court and administrative orders. They were also instructed not to operate sound systems after 10 pm, avoid unnecessary use of bass and refrain from using oversized DJ set-ups.
According to the prescribed noise standards, the limit in residential areas is 55 decibels during the day (6 am to 10 pm) and 45 decibels at night (10 pm to 6 am), while in silence zones it is 50 decibels during the day and 40 decibels at night.
The incident has triggered demands for tighter regulation of DJs during religious processions in Balrampur.
