Man electrocuted in waterlogged Kirari home, 9th such case

A 40-year-old man was killed after he was electrocuted when he tried to plug in a pump in order to drain rain and sewage water from his house in northwest Delhi on Thursday, officials said on Friday.

According to a tally put together by HT, this was at least the ninth reported case of electrocution caused by rain-related incidents in the Capital since the start of monsoon this year, and the third case in northwest Delhi’s Kirari in the past week — highlighting the dangers people face on a daily basis.

The victim’s family alleged that he had procured the water pump from the office of a local MLA around four days ago, police officers said.

The victim was identified as Lallan Mishra, a resident of Agar Nagar within the Prem Nagar police station limits, said deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu.

“Our control room received a call around 3pm regarding an electrocution death in Kirari. When police reached the spot, they found a man lying in an unconscious state. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival,” Sidhu said.

“His body was handed over to his family after post-mortem examination,” the DCP said.

Mishra’s brother-in-law Devesh Mishra, 28, who lives close to his house, said for nearly a week, the street and houses in Kirari were waterlogged.

“Around 3pm, my brother-in-law plugged in the machine to pump the water out of his house. As soon as he plugged in, current ran through the water and he fell on the floor,” Devesh said, adding that they have used the machine twice in the last two days.

Devesh added that they got the machine from the local MLA’s office. “We went to the local MLA, Rituraj Jha, to discuss the waterlogging issue about four days ago, and the staffers gave us a water pump,” Devesh said.

However, Jha said that the water pumps were distributed by the government to more than 100 people in the area. “They were given to all those people who needed them. It is an unfortunate incident. I have been informed that he (Mishra) was holding a wire in his hand and had plugged in another wire that led to the electrocution. The case is under investigation by police,” he said.

This is the third rain-related death in the Kirari assembly constituency, which comprises low-lying areas where water inundates streets, grounds and houses every monsoon.

On August 9, two 17-year-old boys allegedly drowned when water filled an open ground in Prem Nagar after heavy rainfall. The boys were playing cricket near the ground, their family said. The deceased were identified as Divyansh Kumar and Mayank Kumar.

“There is no drainage system in the area. At least four to five deaths are recorded every monsoon in this area due to waterlogging” said Gaurav Thakur, 31, a local resident.