20 sustain burn injuries in Bihar as tazia touches overhead power cable

SDO Aniket Kumar in Bihar’s Araria district said the incident took place on Wednesday afternoon in Pipra Bijwar village under Palasi police station

ARARIA: Nearly 20 people who were part of a Muharram procession in Bihar’s Araria district sustained burn injuries when a tazia being carried came in contact with a high-voltage overhead cable, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Shiite Muslims carry a 'Tazia', or a replica of the coffin of Imam Hussain during the procession on the tenth day of Muharram, which marks the day of Ashura, in Prayagraj on Wednesday. (ANI/REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Sub divisional officer (SDO) Aniket Kumar said the incident took place on Wednesday afternoon in Pipra Bijwar village under Palasi police station when the tazia came in contact with the high-tension wire.

“Initially, six taziadars (youth carrying tazia) received electric shock. The others sustained injuries when they went to rescue them,” said Kumar.

The injured were taken to the community health centre (CHC) Palasi and six people, who sustained serious burns, referred to the Araria district hospital .

“Three of them are undergoing treatment at the district hospital while three are being treated at a private hospital,” he said.

People who were part of the Muharram procession blamed the electricity officials for the accident, saying they should have disconnected the power supply as a precautionary measure.

State electricity officials, however, rebutted the charge, saying the procession unilaterally changed the procession’s route without any prior intimation

Kumar said the procession was not on its route approved by the administration. “We are probing the incident,” he said.