New Delhi: A nine-year-old boy got electrocuted while playing in a park in southeast Delhi’s Kalkaji area, police said on Sunday.
The incident took place on Saturday night. Aryaman Chaudhary was playing at a MCD park when he came in contact with an open electric switchboard, they said.
The police said they received a PCR call regarding the incident at around 9.30 pm. Upon reaching the spot, police learned that the child, a resident of DDA Flats, Kalkaji, had been playing in the park when his ball fell near a switchboard attached to an electric pole.
“When Aryaman tried to retrieve the ball, he accidentally touched the open switchboard and received a severe electric shock,” the statement said. The child was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by locals and his family, but doctors declared him brought dead. A case under sections 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the BNS has been registered at Kalkaji Police Station against unknown persons, it read.
An eyewitness, Jitendra Rathore said that children were playing in the park as usual when the ball rolled near a pole. “One of the boys went to get it and touched the switchboard and got stuck to it. Another child nearby also felt a minor shock but managed to move away. The first child was stuck and couldn’t move,” he said. He added some women rushed to help the boy.
“One of them tried to pull him away but couldn’t. Another woman managed to pull him off by his t-shirt after a lot of effort. A neighbourhood doctor began CPR immediately, and his father also tried to help. He was then taken to a hospital,” Rathore said. Another resident, Bharti, said that many children play in the park every evening. The boy was playing cricket with his friends when the ball went near the pole.
“He touched it and got a strong shock. A few children and a friend tried to help and also felt the shock. We tried giving CPR, but he didn’t respond,” she said.
She also mentioned difficulty in getting timely medical assistance, and added, “We first went to a hospital nearby, but there were delays. An ambulance was only arranged after repeated requests,” Bharti said. The police said an investigation is underway to identify those responsible for the maintenance of the electric infrastructure in the park.