A short circuit inside a hoarding placed above caused the man's death; later, his neighbours, kin ran riot in the area, vandalising several other bus stands
In the wee hours of Thursday, a 22-year-old local imitation jewellery shop owner died due to an electric shock at the bus stop outside Mahim Dargah. The incident led to severe tension in the area and the cops resorted to lathicharge to control the enraged crowd — comprising the deceased’s friends and neighbours — that went on a rampage, vandalising several bus stops in the area.
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Shock and Effect: The bus stop outside Mahim Dargah where Shaikh (right) lost his life. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi
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Death from above
According to the police, Abdul Karim Shaikh was sitting at the bus stop, when a short circuit occurred inside the electric hoarding placed above. This led to leakage of current from the hoarding to the bus stop, electrocuting Shaikh. Sitting at the bus stop after dinner with his friends was Abdul’s daily ritual. However, yesterday, he was alone at the time of the incident. He was the sole breadwinner for his family.
Vijay Bagwe, assistant commissioner of police (Mahim division), said, “He died of electrocution at Mahim bus stop. It was a couple of passers-by, who pulled him away from the bus stop using wooden sticks, and rushed him to Bhabha Hospital. But the doctors declared him dead on arrival. We are awaiting BEST’s reply on which contractor had installed the hoarding.” The unidentified contractor has been booked under section 304 (A) (Causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Apart from charging the contractor, the police also booked the mob, which vandalised public property. Dashrath Patil, senior police inspector, Mahim, said, “We registered a case of rioting against 15 to 16 people and have booked them under sections 143, 145, 147, 149 and 427 of the IPC. While one of the vandals has been arrested, the others are wanted. They damaged around seven to eight bus stops in the area.”
Witnesses’ account
“I was on my way home at 12.30 am on Thursday when I saw someone lying unconscious at the bus stop. When I stepped forward to check on him, I felt current passing through me. I immediately backed off,” said a witness. “Using wooden sticks, we pulled him away from the bus stop and rushed him to Bhabha Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival,” said another witness, requesting anonymity.
Corporatorspeak
Virendra Tandel, MNS corporator from Mahim, said that the incident was shameful and demanded stringent police action against the contractor, who had installed the hoarding at the bus stop. “I will raise the issue of public safety in the House. The moment I came to know that someone had been electrocuted at a Mahim bus stop, I rushed to the spot. I was there with the victim’s family the entire night.”
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