Boy, 13, dies of electrocution while playing cricket

New Delhi: A 13-year-old boy died of electrocution after he came in contact with an electric pole here, police said on Sunday. The incident happened in Ranhola area while the boy was playing cricket, they said.

The Rahnola police station received a PCR call on Saturday at 1.27 pm regarding the death of the boy due to electrocution, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (outer) Jimmy Chiram said. The police team reached the spot and was informed that the boy was playing cricket in Kotla Vihar Phase-2, when he got electrocuted after he came in contact with an iron pole supplying electricity to a ‘gaushala’ (cowshed), DCP Chiram said.

“He was immediately taken to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital by the PCR van where doctors declared him brought dead,” said the DCP.

An FIR has been registered under Section 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and investigation is underway, the police said. Meanwhile, the teen’s mother Anita Devi has demanded strict action against the ‘gaushala’ (cowshed) and the Power Department.

“My son, who was a student of class seven of a government school, went to play cricket with his friends on Saturday. He went near the ‘gaushala’ to pick the ball and got electrocuted from a pole carrying electric wire to a cowshed,” Devi said.

Many children go to the ground to play cricket and this can happen to anyone, she said.

She alleged that when her son was dying, nobody came forward to rescue him even when her elder son shouted there to save his brother’s life.

However, nobody asked the cowshed members to turn off the power, she said.

Later in the evening, the family members and local people blocked the Nangloi-Najafgarh road by keeping the boy’s body demanding compensation and justice for the family.

The protesters shouted slogans against the police and discom (distribution company).

“We all gathered here for justice. The child who died of electrocution was his family’s support. Strict action must be taken against the culprits and proper compensation for the family members must be announced,” a protester said.

Another protester said the family members have decided that they will not cremate the body till compensation is announced. Police was deployed to maintain law and order.

“We are requesting the family members to cremate the body of the boy as a case has already been registered and an investigation has begun,” a senior police officer said. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva also expressed grief over the death and

has demanded an investigation into the matter.