Two dead, four injured in electrocution near Mumbai Ganesh pandal

An eight-year-old girl and a 33-year-old woman died and four other people were injured after they suffered an electric shock at a temporary drinking water and cold drink stall near a Ganesh pandal in Mumbai's Lalbaug area early on Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred around 2.20 a.m. near the entrance gate of the Mahaganpati Utsav Mandal in Digvijay Mill Chawl, a row tenement on Dattaram Lad Marg in Kalachowki, at a time when large crowds had gathered for the ongoing Ganesh festival. Electric current was detected at the stall, which had been set up close to the pandal entrance.

Firefighters switched off the power supply at the spot and cordoned off the area as a precaution. The six people who had been electrocuted were taken to nearby hospitals, where two were declared dead.

Raghini Ghanshyam Yadav, 8, was declared dead on arrival at Masina Hospital in Byculla. Three others — Kiran Akbar Naik, Tanvi Naresh Hande and Sahil Sandip Tare, all aged 19 — are being treated at the same hospital and are stated to be stable.

Two other victims were taken to Global Hospital in Parel. Sujata, 33, was declared dead on arrival there, while Ruhi Singh, 12, is critically injured and admitted to the intensive care unit.

A site inspection by officials of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking at the chawl found that a temporary electric meter had been installed to light the festival celebrations and to run the cold drink stall. Its wiring and miniature circuit breaker were disconnected by a local electrician, the officials said.

Power supply at the site remained partially cut off. A BEST fuseman and a meter inspector assisted in the investigation. The Kalachowki police have begun a detailed probe to establish the cause of the short circuit.