'Vande Bharat, but no infrastructure,' says father of electrocuted woman
Sakshi Ahuja, who died of electrocution at the New Delhi Railway Station on Sunday, did not receive any help on time as no ambulance, doctors, or police were available on the spot, her family has alleged. Speaking to NDTV, her father, Lokesh Kumar Chopra, said the family could only leave the station after 40 minutes, and Ahuja died while being taken to the hospital.
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On Sunday, 34-year-old Ahuja arrived at the railway station at around 5:30am with two women and three children to catch a Vande Bharat train to Chandigarh. She held onto an electric pole to avoid puddles when she suffered an electric shock. The woman, a teacher at Lovely Public School in Laxmi Nagar, was rushed to the hospital by onlookers but died on the way.
No action taken so far: Chopra
Talking about officials' negligence, Chopra said, "The Railway officials informed us that action will be taken but not seeing any action being taken till now." "Our system is not improving...we are making high-quality trains like Vande Bharat, but have been unable to install proper infrastructure at stations...there are no facilities despite the huge footfall," he added.
Similar incident occurred earlier, alleges Chopra
Chopra also alleged that a similar incident occurred at the railway station earlier, quoting local laborers. "They said they had filed a complaint, but no action was taken," he stated, adding, "We don't want money. Punish those who are responsible...We are ready for a legal battle." He added that Ahuja's two children—a nine-year-old son and a seven-year-old daughter—narrowly escaped the incident.
Victim's father recalls traumatic details
Recalling the traumatic incident, Chopra said, "I was parking the car and asked Ahuja to take the bags and the children and proceed toward the train...She stepped into a puddle and got electrocuted." "We spent 30-40 minutes to get out of the premises... I realized my daughter has passed away...But I didn't react as her children were with me," he added.
Committee formed for probe: Railways
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways said an investigation was underway into the matter. "A committee has been formed to probe the incident...Necessary action will be taken and those found guilty will be taken to task," Deepak Kumar, spokesperson for Northern Railway, told PTI. Additionally, the police said the authorities were conducting a safety audit of electric poles and electricity infrastructure to prevent such incidents.
