Thane girl dies of electrocution, MSEB man booked

Siddhi Gupta, an eight-yearold Thane girl died of electrocution on Monday while she was sitting on the iron staircase. Siddhi lost her life on the stair case as she was playing there.

Her neighbours after hearing a loud scream came running to her rescue who watched Siddhi attempting to get up. The neighbours tried to pull her with wooden stick and bamboos but it was too late. People of her vicinity gathered at the police station demanding the arrest of a wireman, who had not even bothered to inform them about some power work happening. The police have booked wireman Datta Patil, who works for Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).

“We tried to pull her, but the voltage was high and by the time we managed to do that, she fell unconscious,” said a member of Chawl.

Siddhi was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. “The residents from Lokmanya Nagar alleged that she died because of the MSEB wireman’s negligence, who started wiring work around their houses without intimating them. They also claimed that the wiring was faulty and led to a short circuit on Monday evening, but MSEB didn’t bother to repair it,” said P Girdhar, senior police inspector from Vartak Nagar police station. Locals who came in contact with the electric shock immediately moved to a safer side, but the girl, who was playing on the staircase, could not do so. “Soon after she was pronounced dead, around 100 people reached the police station and filed an FIR against the wireman. After that, we took Siddhi’s family’s statement and registered a case under Section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence) of the IPC against Datta Patil,” said Girdhar. The MSEB PRO Vishwjeet Bhosale said ,that the inquiry about this incidence is on and after filing the report, further action will be taken.