5 min readNew DelhiJul 28, 2024 09:10 AM IST
First published on: Jul 23, 2024 at 11:45 AM IST
On Monday afternoon, 26-year-old Nilesh Rai was heading back to his paying guest accommodation in South Patel Nagar’s Block 8 after a study session at the Book Lounge library nearby. He was preparing for the civil services exam. It had rained a little during the day and the weather was pleasant but the lane in front of his PG was waterlogged. Nilesh hopped across a dry patch and held onto the iron gate near his PG’s building to cross the clogged section — within seconds, he was electrocuted.
The gate had electricity running through it, owing to a naked wire touching it.
DCP (Central) M Harsha Vardha said at 2.43 pm, a police team rushed to the spot near Power Gym, Patel Nagar Metro station, following a PCR call to Ranjit Nagar police station. “It was found that the victim was electrocuted due to an electric current in the iron gate. There was also waterlogging on the road. The victim was taken to RML Hospital where he was declared dead by doctors,” he said.
A case was registered under sections 106(1) (causing death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide) and 285 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation) of the BNS against unknown persons.
‘Watched helplessly’
Nilesh’s friend Abhishek Singh (26), who lived in the same PG, said he watched helplessly as it happened. “We ran down… shouted for help and tried pushing him off the gate with a wooden ladder… but the water was also electrified and the ladder was wet from the rain. It was too late…,” said Abhishek, also a UPSC aspirant.
He alleged a building next door was using the wire that caused the electrocution to power an electric water pump.
Nilesh had been preparing for his fourth attempt at the UPSC exam. While he couldn’t clear the preliminary exams the last three times, he did so this year and was studying for the main exam. A civil engineering graduate from MSRIT in Bangalore, he hailed from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur. Rai had worked as a research assistant at IISC in his fourth year of engineering.
His father is a district court lawyer.
“He was a bright student and really wanted to be successful for his family’s sake,” said Abhishek.
Kapil Singh (27), another fellow aspirant, said he had spoken to Nilesh just a few days ago.
“We talked about the exam and our futures like we usually did. I was coming to Delhi for some work and we had made plans to meet,” he said. “He was such a cheerful and jolly guy. Ask anyone in this neighbourhood, from the tea shop to the bookshop, everyone knows him for his good nature.”
Kapil and Nilesh had become friends after meeting in Vajiram, a UPSC coaching institute, in 2019. “We used to sit in the back and discuss the topics that were being taught. That’s how we became friends,” he said, adding, “After that, we both chose to study on our own and would meet in the library in ORN (Old Rajinder Nagar) almost every day.”
The man’s death was also flagged by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. In a post on X, she wrote: “This is not an accident, it is a murder caused by failure of the government system… An FIR should be filed… and immediate action should be taken against all responsible persons.”
A Tata Power-DDL spokesperson responded to the death, saying the incident was “due to electric current leakage from the customer’s damaged motor wiring, which touched the iron gate at the entrance of a colony. On receiving the information, our breakdown team promptly arrived at the site.”
The spokesperson added, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased. At Tata Power-DDL, we are committed to ensuring a safe monsoon season for our consumers and preventing such tragic incidents… We urge the public to be cautious during the monsoon, and follow safety guidelines, such as avoiding waterlogged areas, staying clear of fallen wires, and promptly reporting any electrical hazards.”
Earlier this month, on July 13, a 34-year-old woman was wading through a waterlogged street in Yamuna Vihar when she was electrocuted by a live wire that had fallen on the ground.
Nearly a year ago, a 34-year-old school teacher was electrocuted outside the New Delhi railway station premises after accidentally coming in contact with a live wire amid rainfall on Sunday.
The Indian Express had reported in July that over the last year, as per data shared by sources in the power department, 50 instances of electrocution were reported in which 26 people died. A major reason behind these incidents was encroachment and illegal extension of houses around electricity poles.
The gate had electricity running through it, owing to a naked wire touching it. (Express Photo by Amit Mehra) 
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