BSES Issues Advisory After Teacher Dies by Electrocution at New Delhi Railway Station

NEW DELHI: An advisory from power distribution or discom company BSES of New Delhi urges people to avoid proximity to electrical installations and to refrain from power theft, while avoiding waterlogged areas.

Discom company BSES is a joint venture of Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. & Govt. of NCT of Delhi.

BSES’ advisory comes a day after Sakshi Ahuja a 34-year-old teacher, tragically died of electrocution after she accidentally came into contact with a live electrical wire at the New Delhi Railway Station complex on Sunday morning during a spell of rain.

A statement issued by BSES asks anyone noticing any fallen cable, pole or exposed wiring, to inform the officials concerned by calling up 19123 (for south and west Delhi) and 19122 (for east and central Delhi).

The next part of the advisory is also relevant for people in Guwahati during the rainy season as waterlogging has become a permanent feature in many areas of Assam’s capital city and incidents of electrocution have claimed several lives in the past.

The advisory cautions children from playing near electricity installations, even if they are barricades in place, and not to venture into parks or open areas that are waterlogged.

People are also advised to turn off the main switch in the event of waterlogging or if leakage of water is the meter enclosure. They are also urged to turn on the main switch only after ensuring that there are no faults and having them rectified properly if faults exist. Installation of an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) is recommended to help avoid electrical shocks and mishaps.

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

The incident is said to have taken place near exit gate number 1 of the station, at the time when the victim Sakshi Ahuja and her family were on their way to board a train to Chandigarh, officials said. She was accompanied by her father, mother, brother, sister, and two children when the incident occurred.

Ahuja lived with her family in the Preet Vihar area and was working as a teacher in Lovely Public School at Laxmi Nagar, police said.

A preliminary enquiry revealed that Ahuja was walking towards the station when she lost her footing and grabbed hold of an electricity pole to break her fall. That is when she came in contact with a few exposed electrical wires lying at the spot, according to a senior police officer.

A police team promptly reached the spot and rushed Ahuja to the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital. However, doctors there declared her brought dead, said Apoorva Gupta, DCP (Railways).

Meanwhile, a complaint alleging negligence on the part of the authorities was filed by Ahuja's sister Madhvi Chopra, it was informed. A case under sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC was filed against unidentified persons and an investigation initiated, Gupta added.

According to the victim Ahuja's family, she was headed for Chandigarh on the Vande Bharat Express, along with her siblings, parents and children for a function.

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