Man tries to save son, gets electrocuted

A man died from electrocution on Wednesday morning when he tried to save his seven-year-old son. At 12.45 am, Shaheed Sheikh (7) stepped out of his shanty at New Gautam Nagar in Deonar to enjoy the pre-monsoon showers.

A man died from electrocution on Wednesday morning when he tried to save his seven-year-old son.

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At 12.45 am, Shaheed Sheikh (7) stepped out of his shanty at New Gautam Nagar in Deonar to enjoy the pre-monsoon showers. But he got electrocuted when he touched an iron ladder outside his house on which a live wire had fallen.

Hearing his son’s screams, autorickshaw driver Akbar Sheikh (29) rushed out. He grabbed a bamboo and tried to push his son away from the ladder.

“But Akbar came in contact with the iron ladder and got electrocuted too,” said Yusuf Qureshi, a neighbour. Akbar’s elder sister Shameem tried to save him but was thrown away.

Locals managed to detach Akbar from the ladder and rush him to Rajawadi hospital, but the doctors declared him dead before admission. Shaheed and Shameem are recuperating at the hospital.

Akbar is survived by his wife, Shabana, and three children. “How will I take care of my children now?” asked Shabana, wiping her tears.

After locals blamed the rampant use of illegal electric connections in the area for the tragedy, the Deonar police arrested Raheem Kader Sheikh (35), who allegedly supplied the illegal power connection to Sheikhs. “We are investigating the case,” said Senior Police Inspector B. Bhalerao of the Deonar police station.

The police also sent a notice to Reliance Energy asking it to repair all uncovered wires in the area and take steps to prevent power thefts.