Ghaziabad electrocution: More residents say they had warned the shop owner

The death of the five people, including three minor girls, due to electrocution on Wednesday could have been averted had the shopkeeper of the grocery store in ‘gali number 3’ at Rakesh Marg paid heed to the warnings of two residents who sustained an electric shock, when they touched the iron poles holding the newly erected shed at the shop, an hour before the incident

The death of the five people, including three minor girls, due to electrocution on Wednesday could have been averted had the shopkeeper of the grocery store in ‘gali number 3’ at Rakesh Marg paid heed to the warnings of two residents who sustained an electric shock, when they touched the iron poles holding the newly erected shed at the shop, an hour before the incident. Residents said they had warned the shopkeeper even on Tuesday, when the shed was put in place to protect shoppers from rain, when they spotted some spark near a bulb hanging over the shed.

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Three minor girls--Shubhi alias Surbhi Paswan (4), Khushi Kumari (10) and Simran Kumari (11), were electrocuted while two others--Laxmi Narayan (24) and Shubhi’s mother Jaanki (35)--who tried to save them, also died at a grocery store in Ghaziabad’s Rakesh Marg locality on Wednesday morning. The owner of the shop, Sushil Kumar, is still at large, said police.

On Thursday, Rita Paswan, a resident of gali number 3, said she suffered an electric shock when she came in contact with iron poles supporting the shed of the shop. “It was about 8:30am when I was going to work. There was little flooding outside the shop. I touched the iron pole for support to wade through water. I got an electric shock and lost my balance. Though it was raining, there wasn’t much waterlogging there, reason why I probably got saved,” she said.

Rita immediately brought the matter to the attention of the shop owner. “He took the matter lightly and did not pay heed to my warning,” she said.

Rita’s husband Yogesh Paswan said that an hour later, he got a call from his neighbour who informed him about the five who died of electrocution. “Had the shopkeeper not ignored my wife’s warning, the five people would have been saved. My wife is still having a pain on her right hand and veins have turned blue as a result of the electric shock she received,” he added.

Sri Narayan Mahto, a 35-year-old resident of the area, complained that he too sustained an electric shock when he touched the iron pole around 8am. “I am a tenant at the same house where the shop is located. The shop owner ignored what I said and went on with his work. He should have closed his shop and raised a complaint with the electricity department,” said Mahto.

Sunil Pandit, a tenant in the same house where the shop is located, said he had heard Rita arguing with the shop owner after she sustained an electric shock about an hour before the line of electrocutions. “The shop owner did not pay attention to her complaint. Instead, he had earphones plugged on and was listening to music,” said Pandit.

On Wednesday, Lal Singh, a nearby shop owner, told HT that he and his tenants saw sparks from a bulb hanging from the shed. “The shop owner got the iron poles tested with a tester and told us there was no issue of electric current passing through,” said Singh.

As per footage obtained from the CCTV cameras installed near the incident spot, it was around 9.49am on Wednesday when the victims, one by one, got electrocuted and eventually died.

During a visit to the area on Thursday, HT found a bunch of snapped electric cables with open joints, with no insulation electric tapes around them, lying near the shop. The cable was drawn from the main electricity line and connected to the two electricity metres installed at the house where the shop is located.

“Officials from the electricity department snapped the cables as they were passing adjacent to the shed. It has an open joint, indicating that it was probably used for providing illegal connection and passed on electric current to the newly erected shed. The shop owner ignored warnings time and again and now everyone is demanding an FIR be lodged against him. Had he acted, five deaths could have been averted,” said Badri Narayan, Laxmi Narayan’s father.

Pankaj Srivastava, chief engineer of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), said the cables were snapped after they received a complaint on Wednesday.

“It is the consumer who pays for the cable. It has come to light that residents warned the shop owner but he did not lodge any complaint with us. As regards the open joint, it may be possible that the cable got cut while erecting the shed,” said Srivastava.

Nipun Agarwal, superintendent of police (city), said so far, no FIR has been lodged in the case. “The victims’ families are busy performing the last rites. Further, a report is awaited on the inquiry initiated by the district magistrate. Once the reason is established, responsibility will be fixed before an FIR is registered. Sushil Kumar, the shop owner, is yet to be traced,” he added.