Day after, railway officials pass buck, BSES mum

Act against the guilty, says family of woman who died of electrocution at New Delhi railway station; Railways says it will conclude inquiry in a week

Site of the incident near New Delhi railway station’s gate no. 1, cordoned off by the police | Photo Credit: AKSHAT SINGH

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A day after a 34-year-old teacher, Sakshi Ahuja, died of electrocution at the New Delhi railway station, a senior railway official, who is part of a committee constituted by the Indian Railways to probe the incident, said a partially damaged power cable at the site may have led to the tragedy.

The official said Sakshi might have been electrocuted after stepping into a puddle through which current from the damaged cable was running.

Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railway, said that the inquiry being done by the department will be completed within a week and the report will be submitted to the Divisional Railway Manager (Delhi).

Delhi Police, which is conducting its own probe into the case, on Monday asked the Central Electricity Authority of India to inspect the spot where the victim suffered the fatal shock.

However, BSES Yamuna Power Limited, which supplies electricity to the New Delhi railway station, continues to remain silent over the issue. When reached, the discom did not offer a comment.

Criminal negligence

The victim, 34-year-old teacher, Sakshi Ahuja. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Speaking to The Hindu, the victim’s family members said strict action must be taken against those found responsible for the negligence that led to Sakshi’s death. “Today, Sakshi has died. Tomorrow, it could be someone else. Action must be taken against the guilty,” the victim’s husband, Ankit Ahuja, said. “We cannot hold one person responsible for the crime. There are multiple layers at which government operates. The negligence should be identified by looking at the system as a whole,” Mr. Ahuja said.

Sakshi’s brother-in-law Laksh Dhingra said various authorities have been blaming each other for the tragedy. He rued the fact that “big-ticket projects have been announced at the station while ignoring the basic safety norms”.

Damaged cables

Talking about the incident, the senior railway official said, “When the rainwater entered the cable, which seems to have been damaged from being hit by a vehicle, it led to an insulation failure. This caused the leakage of current in a small area near the puddle, where the victim accidentally stepped.”

As an immediate measure to prevent such tragedies in future, electricity poles at all stations in the city have been covered with fibre sheets, he said.

When asked about the dangers posed by the exposed power cables at the site, the official blamed it on miscreants who steal wire boxes for petty sums.

“The electricity department cannot protect the infrastructure at the station. It is the job of the Government Railway Police (GRP),” he said.

The senior official said that the Northern Railway was working on a plan to prevent such thefts by installing special locks around the wire boxes. “Once we do this, such incidents will be curbed to a large extent,” he said.

Meanwhile, the police have written to the DRM seeking details of the person responsible for electrical maintenance at the site, a senior police officer said. When asked about the exposed power cables at the site of the incident, the officer said the area had been cordoned off.