Boy electrocuted, BSES blames dangling wires

Bhavesh was with three friends — Rupesh Jain, Jayesh Gosavi and Mervin Roy — at the Sector 7 market. Police said Bhavesh touched the board to avoid stepping into a puddle of water. His friends who tried to save him also got a shock — and were saved thanks to the intervention of beat constable Deepak Kumar (44), who was standing nearby.

Constable Kumar, who said he is a national-level taekwondo player, said he performed a “front push kick” to separate the boys. “I tried to save Bhavesh but couldn’t,” he said. “We called an auto and rushed him and his friends to a hospital, where he was declared dead,” said Kumar.

Bhavesh, who hails from Akola in Maharashtra, had been staying in Delhi for the last few months and preparing for the DGCA exam to become a pilot.

Police said he stayed in a PG and took tuitions at an academy nearby. Police said his body has been handed over to the family following a post-mortem.

Following the incident, a BSES official said, “Our condolences are with the family. Preliminary reports indicate there was no leakage of electricity on the pole. However, the pole harboured several illegal wires, including those of cable and internet operators. One such illegal wire that was being used to steal electricity by local hawkers had leakage in it and was touching the metal board. Our internal accident enquiry committee is also investigating this case and cooperating with authorities.”

He said that in view of the rain, residents are urged to stay away from electrical installations such as electricity poles, sub-stations, transformers, and street lights, especially in waterlogged areas.

Ravinder Saini, a restaurant owner, claimed that a week ago, a live wire was dangling from the electric pole and BSES had to be called in to fix it.