New Delhi: School teacher dies of electrocution at Railway Station

New Delhi: A 34-year-old woman died of electrocution after accidentally coming in contact with a live wire at the New Delhi Railway Station complex on Sunday morning amid rainfall, police said. The incident has prompted the concerned authorities to conduct a safety audit of all electric poles and electricity infrastructure to prevent any such incident in the future, they said. The incident took place near exit gate number 1 of the station when Sakshi Ahuja, the victim, along with her family was on her way to board a train to Chandigarh, they said. She was with her father, mother, brother, sister, and two children at the time of the incident. Ahuja was a teacher in Lovely Public School, Priyadarshani Vihar, Laxmi Nagar, police said.

As per a preliminary enquiry, it was raining and Ahuja was walking towards the station when she lost her balance and grabbed an electricity pole to break her fall when she came in contact with some exposed wires, a senior police officer said. A police team led by Assistant Sub-Inspector Gaikwad reached the spot and rushed Ahuja to the Lady Hardinge Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead, said Apoorva Gupta, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways). Her body has been shifted to a mortuary. Ahuja’s sister, Madhvi Chopra, has filed a complaint alleging negligence on the part of the authorities, she said.

A case under sections 287 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against unidentified persons and an investigation has been initiated, Gupta added. “We have spoken to officers in the Indian Railways, who are enquiring into the matter at their end to determine who was responsible for the negligence,” she said. “Crime team and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, have inspected the spot,” the DCP added. The woman is survived by her husband Ankit Ahuja who works as an engineer in a Japanese firm and two minor children, her family said.

“She died due to electric current running through the waterlogged tracks caused by heavy rainfall. The power lines were submerged in water, and there was an electric current running through them. The woman came in contact with it and lost her life,” the police said.

The police said that Saakshi Ahuja’s sister Madhvi Chopra filed a complaint in this regard against the concerned authority for negligence. Based on her complaint, the police have lodged an FIR under Sections 287 and 304-A of the IPC. “The forensic team has inspected the spot and further investigation is underway,” the police said.

Deepak Kumar, CPRO, Northern Railway, said that as per initial investigation, it appears that the accident occurred due to waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall, leading to electrical current flow.

“It seems that there was a leakage of current from the cable due to insulation failure. There is no indication of any deficiency in the railway system. Efforts are being made to ensure that such an incident does not occur in the future. A safety drive has been initiated to prevent recurrence of such accidents,” Kumar said.