RANCHI: In a very unfortunate incident, three members of a family were electrocuted while hoisting the tricolour on their roof on Sunday.
The incident took place at around 7 pm at Borya in Ranchi, when the three – Vineet Jha (23), sister Puja Kumari (25) and their cousin Aarti Kumari (26) were trying to straighten the tri-colour, which had been hoisted on their roof to mark the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, got tilted due to heavy rain.
“The incident took place after the steel rod got in contact with the live wire running near their house, leading to the death of all three persons,” said Kanke Officer-in-charge Brij Kumar.
According to the eyewitnesses Vineet got electrocuted while straightening the tri-colour, Puja and Aarti rushed to his rescue but they also got electrocuted, he added.
“Vineet died on the spot, while Aarti and Puja were rushed to the Kanke General Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead,” said a family member. A cat, which was also near them, died during the incident, he added.
Aarti’s father Vijay Jha claimed that when the house was getting constructed, there was no wire above it, but the electricity department put high-tension wire merely one and a half feet from their house a year ago. They made several complaints to the local authorities, but nothing was done towards shifting the wire, he said.
Angered by the irresponsible attitude of the electricity department, family members were not allowing the police to remove the body of Vineet from the spot till a complaint was filed.
The protestors also demanded either Chief Minister Hemant Soren or Deputy Commissioner should visit the spot and take a look at the situation.
Brothers, Vijay Jha and Shiv Kumar Jha live together in a house along with their families. Puja was selected for State Bank of India and had been asked to join within a week.
However, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has expressed condolences toward the incident and said, "May God give the family members strength to overcome their loss."
In a similar incident, another person died on the spot while hoisting the tri-colour at police lines in Bokaro due to electrocution, while two others were seriously injured. The deceased was identified as Bageshwar.