9-year-old boy electrocuted while playing in MCD Park in south Delhi | Latest News Delhi

A nine-year-old boy was electrocuted to death in a park in Kalkaji, south-east Delhi on Saturday night when he tried to retrieve a ball that had fallen into an open BSES electricity switchboard attached to an electric pole. The victim was identified as Aryaman Chaudhary, a Kalkaji resident. His father Randeep is a yoga teacher.

Police have registered a case on charges of causing death by negligence under Section 106 and negligent conduct with respect to machinery under Section 289 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Kalkaji police station. The park is run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). MCD and BSES blamed each other for the victim’s death.

“The boy was playing in the park when his ball accidentally fell into the open electric switchboard. While attempting to retrieve it he received an electric shock and was electrocuted. He was immediately taken to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The electric shock originated in a BSES electricity point housed in an iron cabin. The team is questioning every person involved including the park caretakers,” said an investigator.

Police said that the boy was playing with three friends. When he collapsed, one of his friends went to check on him and he got a shock as well but wasn’t injured. Seeing the child unconscious, a woman sitting nearby went to help him and got a shock as well but she managed to pick him up and take him to a hospital with the help of a few bystanders.

In a statement, MCD said that the civic body’s pole located in the park is completely covered and the open feeder pillar belongs to the BSES. “It seems that while the child was playing in the park, ball travelled to the space near the open feeder pillar of BSES which proved fatal. The MCD pole in this case is completely covered,” it said.

An MCD official said that the site was inspected by civic officials. “We confirmed that the electrical panel belongs to BSES and appear to be used to supply electricity to adjacent residential buildings. This panel is not under the jurisdiction or maintenance of MCD, and is not connected to any park facility. Local residents also told us that they saw BSES personnel carrying out digging or repair work near the panel earlier in the day. It is suspected that this activity may have caused electric current leakage, leading to the tragic incident,” the official said, requesting anonymity. 

A BSES official said: “Our condolences are with the family of the victim. On-ground inspection clearly established that there was no leakage from the BSES feeder pillar or any part of the discom’s infrastructure. The current leakage originated from a metallic streetlight pole installed and maintained by civic agency, with power supplied through a controller managed by EESL on behalf of civic agency. The complaint was immediately acted upon by the BSES team, which dispatched the on-duty team to the site. The team’s inspection confirmed no fault in BSES equipment. We are fully co-operating with the authorities in the investigations.”

In a similar case in August 2024, a 13-year-old boy in Ranhola accidentally came in contact with an iron pole carrying electricity to a cow shelter while playing cricket and was electrocuted. In April 2024, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted in Chhawla after touching an electric pole during a thunderstorm .

According to the Delhi Fire Service, the Capital witnessed at least 50 cases of electrocution since 2024 which resulted in more than 20 deaths, including minors.