Two people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed and four others injured after an electric current reportedly spread through an area near the entrance of a Ganpati pandal in Mumbai’s Kalachowki early Sunday, prompting emergency teams to cut power and cordon off the site.
The incident took place at around 2.20 am near the Kalachowki Vibhag Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal on Dattaram Lad Marg, as large crowds gathered in the Lalbaug-Kalachowki area for the Ganesh festival. According to civic officials, a short circuit occurred near a temporary drinking water and cold drink stall close to the pandal entrance. Electric current was subsequently detected in the area.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade received the emergency call at 2.42 am. Fire brigade personnel, police officers, BEST staff and civic ward officials reached the location and disconnected the power supply. The area was cordoned off as a precaution while the injured were moved to nearby hospitals.
Six people who suffered electric shocks were taken for medical treatment. Ragini Yadav, eight, and Sujata, 33, were declared dead. Kiran Akbar Naik, 19, Tanvi Naresh Hande, 19, and Sahil Sandip Tare, 19, were undergoing treatment and were reported to be stable, civic officials said. A 12-year-old girl, Ruhi Singh, was admitted to an intensive care unit in critical condition.
At Masina Hospital, Ragini was declared brought dead. Her aunt, Kismati Yadav, told The Indian Express that the family had been waiting in the queue from around 2 am but decided to leave because of the crowd. They took a side route and stopped near a shop outside the mandap to let the crowd pass when the incident occurred.
“There were lights installed there, near the mandap. They should have taken care of safety. The child we have lost will not be brought back,” Yadav said.
A preliminary site inspection by BEST officials found that a temporary electricity meter had been installed for lighting the Ganesh festival celebrations and powering the cold drink stall. Officials said the wiring and miniature circuit breaker had been disconnected by a local electrician. The inspection has not yet established the final cause of the short circuit or how current spread into the area used by pedestrians.
The Kalachowki police have initiated an investigation into the electrical fault and the circumstances leading to the electrocution. The incident occurred as thousands of devotees gathered through the night at prominent mandals in Lalbaug and Kalachowki ahead of Sunday’s holiday, placing temporary electrical installations alongside dense pedestrian movement.
The deaths came a day after another fatal incident in the Lalbaug area. On the night of September 17, 25-year-old Pune-based mechanical engineer Jaideep Meghraj Nemade died after suffering a cardiac arrest while waiting for darshan at Lalbaugcha Raja. Police registered an accidental death report after preliminary information indicated a heart attack, and his relatives did not raise a complaint or suspicion.
Authorities are continuing the investigation into the Kalachowki incident, while the injured remain under medical care. The next official findings will determine the cause of the electrical failure and the responsibility for the temporary installation.
