NHRC issues notice to Railway Board, Delhi govt in woman electrocution case

The NHRC has sent notices to the chairman of the Railway Board, the Delhi government and the city police chief after a woman died of electrocution on the New Delhi Railway Station complex, officials said on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old schoolteacher came in contact with a live wire when she lost her balance and grabbed an electric pole to break her fall amid rain early on Sunday morning.

In a statement, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said that besides civic and electricity authorities, the Indian Railways also "seemingly failed to keep a vigil on such life-threatening lapses" at the station, which is one of the busiest public places of Delhi.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that the woman was electrocuted at the New Delhi Railway Station premises on June 25. Reportedly, she clutched an electric pole for support in a waterlogged area, where people alight from taxis, on the Ajmeri Gate side of the station, it said.

Her sister too received an electric shock while trying to rescue her. Allegedly, the victim's family has claimed that despite a police station located just a few metres from the spot, no one came to help in time, the statement said.

The commission observed that the media report, if true, amounts to a "grave violation" of the human rights of the victim and her family due to the "apparent negligence of the authorities contributing to waterlogging and open electrical wires".

Accordingly, the NHRC issued notices to the chairman of the Railway Board, the chief secretary of the Delhi government, and the city police commissioner, seeking a detailed report within four weeks.

"It should include the present status of the FIR registered in the matter, action taken against the officers/officials responsible for the negligence as well as compensation if any, paid to the aggrieved family. The Commission would also like to know about the steps being taken or proposed to be taken by the authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future," the statement said.

The NHRC said the victim's family members have reportedly claimed that she lay on the ground for around 25 minutes before some taxi and autorickshaw drivers came for help. They pulled away the victim's nine-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, who were standing next to her and saved them, it said.

Sakshi Ahuja, along with her family, was on her way to board a train to Chandigarh. She was with her father, mother, brother, sister, and two children at the time of the incident. She lived with her family in Preet Vihar and was a teacher at Lovely Public School in Laxmi Nagar.