IN AN unfortunate incident, a 16-year-old student died after suffering an electric shock near a Ganesh festival pandal in Jasuja City Phase-3, under the jurisdiction of Dhanvantari Nagar police outpost on Wednesday night. The victim, Shaurya Chanpuria, a Class 11 student at Little World School, arrived at the pandal to attend the evening Maha Aarti alongside his friends. At around 9.30 pm, as Shaurya was departing the venue to return home, he came into direct contact with a metal pole supporting the stage s t r u c t u re. The pole was carrying a live electrical current, causing the teenager to suffer a severe shock and collapse immediately onto the ground. Shaurya’s friend, Ajju Ahirwar, stated that signs of electrical leakage were apparent earlier when he experienced a mild shock while moving a table at the venue. Upon returning to inform others, Ajju noticed Shaurya lying motionless near the pandal structure. Ajju and other surrounding youths attempted to lift him up, resulting in them receiving electric shocks as well.

 

The unconscious Shaurya was immediately taken to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical Hospital, where attending doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. The victim’s uncle, Dr Shishir Chanpuria, characterised the incident as an act of severe negligence, stating that uninsulated live electric current in an open public venue poses a direct hazard to human safety. Asserting that public safety was endangered, he demanded strict legal prosecution against all individuals responsible. Dhanvantari Nagar outpost in-charge Durgesh Maravi confirmed that initial inquiries established that the stage support pole had become electrically charged prior to the incident. The organising committee members informed investigators that they were aware of the current leakage beforehand and had notified the contractor. The victim’s body was subsequently transferred to the medical college mortuary for a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death. Police informed that an investigation into the exact nature and level of negligence by the contractor and organisers is underway