Exercise Caution In Rain, Warns BSES After Teacher Dies By Electrocution At New Delhi Railway Station

NEW DELHI: Discom company BSES has issued an advisory urging people to stay away from electrical installations and not engage in power theft and avoid waterlogging in the area. The advisory from the BSES came after a 34-year-old teacher, Sakshi Ahuja died of electrocution after accidentally coming in contact with a live wire at the New Delhi Railway Station complex on Sunday morning amid rainfall.

A statement issued by BSES said, “If anyone noticed any fallen cable, pole or exposed wiring, they could inform the officials concerned by calling on 19123 (south and west Delhi) and 19122 (east and central Delhi). "Caution children from playing near electricity installations, even if they are barricaded, and in parks that are waterlogged." 

The advisory further said, "Put off the main switch in case there is waterlogging or leakage in the meter cabin. Put on the main switch only on ensuring that all faults have been rectified properly. Install an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) to help avoid shocks and mishaps."

Teacher Dies Of Electrocution At New Delhi Railway Station 

Sakshi Ahuja, a 34-year-old woman died of electrocution after accidentally coming in contact with a live wire at the New Delhi Railway Station complex on Sunday morning amid rainfall. The incident has prompted the concerned authorities to conduct a safety audit of all-electric poles and electricity infrastructure to prevent any such incident in the future.

The incident took place near exit gate number 1 of the station when Sakshi Ahuja, the victim, along with her family was on her way to board a train to Chandigarh, they said. She was with her father, mother, brother, sister, and two children at the time of the incident. Ahuja, who lived with her family in Preet Vihar was a teacher in Lovely Public School, Priyadarshani Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, police said.

As per a preliminary enquiry, it was raining and Ahuja was walking towards the station when she lost her balance and grabbed an electricity pole to break her fall when she came in contact with some exposed wires which were lying at the spot, a senior police officer said.

A police team led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Gaikwad reached the spot and rushed Ahuja to the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead, said Apoorva Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways).

Complaint Alleging Negligence Filed

Ahuja's sister, Madhvi Chopra, has filed a complaint alleging negligence on the part of the authorities, she said. A case under sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against unidentified persons and an investigation has been initiated, Gupta added.

"We have spoken to officers in the Indian Railways, who are enquiring into the matter at their end to determine who was responsible for the negligence," she said. "Crime team and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, have inspected the spot," the DCP added. According to the victim's family, Ahuja was going to Chandigarh via the Vande Bharat Express with her siblings, parents and children to attend a function.

The family alleged that she had to hold onto the pole as the streets were waterlogged and slippery due to the rainfall. She collapsed after she got an electric shock from the pole whose wires were lying exposed on the waterlogged street. Sakshi's father Lokesh Chopra, a resident of Model Town, said that he got out of the car near Gate No 1 and was walking ahead towards the station when he suddenly heard Madhvi's scream to help Sakshi.

"I was completely shaken and froze when I saw Sakshi lying on the road...There was nobody to help us... The children were crying," he said. The victim's father blamed the authorities for the negligence which claimed the life of his daughter.

"We were not walking on a narrow or shady road. This was the main road outside gate No. 1 of the New Delhi railway station and the pole was right there at the junction. There are at least half a dozen wires exposed there yet none of the authorities did the needful to get these electrical wirings sorted. Plus the streets were waterlogged," he said.

The victim's family said they were all happy as they were heading to attend a function but never ever thought that something so unfortunate and tragic could happen. The family alleged that the incident happened right outside the railway station but no one came to help them since they feared getting electrocuted too.

"We used wooden sticks to rescue Sakshi but still they could not manage to save her. Even Madhvi suffered a small shock while trying to save her sister, one of the family members said. "The children are inconsolable ever since the incident. They saw their mother fall unconscious in front of them and couldn't understand what really happened to her," he said.

The woman is survived by her husband Ankit Ahuja who works as an engineer in a Japanese firm and two minor children, 10-year-old son Raghav, and six-year-old daughter Ananya, her family said.