Police, Indian Railways Launch Separate Probes Into Electrocution Incident At New Delhi Railway Station

The Delhi police and Indian Railways have launched separate probes to investigate the death of a woman after coming in contact with a live wire at the New Delhi Railway Station complex amid rainfall.
     
While the police said an investigation is underway and suitable action will be taken, the Railways stated that a committee has been formed to probe the woman's death. 
     
The incident took place on Sunday morning near gate number 1 when Sakshi Ahuja (34), along with her family, was on her way to board a train to Chandigarh.
     
According to a preliminary inquiry, Ahuja was walking toward the station in the rain when she lost her balance. She grabbed an electricity pole to break her fall and came in contact with some exposed wires which were lying on the spot.       
     
Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said, "We have registered a case and an investigation is being carried out."
     
She added that the site has been examined by forensic teams.
    
"We have written to the Central Electricity Authority of India to inspect the spot and give us an opinion as to how the incident took place," Nalwa said.
     
As the incident took place on railway property, the police sought inputs from the division railway manager to know who was responsible for the maintenance of the mast lights. The Railways have also been requested to audit the electric installations at the railway station so that such an incident would not take place again, Nalwa said.
     
The police on Sunday said that the incident has prompted authorities to conduct a safety audit of all-electric poles and electricity infrastructure to prevent any such incident in the future.
     
Sources at the power distribution company said the leakage from the high mast light, which is believed to have caused Ahuja's death, is not directly associated with the discom network, the sources said, adding that no signs of leakage have been detected in the limited discom network at the railway station, they added.
     
The discom is responsible for supplying electricity only to a certain portion of the New Delhi Railway Station, which excludes the high mast lights, the sources said.
     
The sources added that the internal electricity distribution network at the station, including the parking site in question, is neither owned nor maintained by the discom.
     
The Railway is responsible for the maintenance of all electrical installations on its premises, railway officials said.
     
"We are awaiting a report from the Government Railway Police on the incident. Further action will be taken by the Railways once we get the report," Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar said.
     
"A committee has also been formed to probe the incident and find the cause of the incident. Necessary action will be taken and those found guilty will be taken to task," Kumar said.
     
"A detailed inquiry will be conducted and the guilty will be punished. A system is also being set in place to ensure the non-occurrence of such incidents in the future," he added.
     
Ahuja used to live with her family in Preet Vihar and was a teacher at Lovely Public School, Priyadarshani Vihar, Laxmi Nagar.