A 19-year-old contractor worker died of electrocution after entering an artificial Ganesh immersion pond in Jogeshwari East after midnight, while an electric pump motor was still running inside the water, according to police and civic authorities.
The worker, identified as Rohit Rathod, entered the pond near Shyam Nagar lake after the last idol for the day had arrived. A police officer said Rathod was unaware that the motor was operating. He suffered the shock on the spot and was later declared brought dead at Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari.
Meghwadi police have registered an accidental death report. Deputy Commissioner of Police for West Zone-3 Datta Nalawade confirmed the death. Police said action would be initiated if the investigation establishes negligence.
Artificial immersion ponds require water to be pumped in and out regularly. The incident occurred at a facility among five artificial ponds established by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the Shyam Nagar lake area for Ganesh idol immersions.
The BMC said the pond, along with three other ponds, had been closed after midnight and that Rathod entered it thereafter. The police account said he entered after the last idol had arrived, while the motor remained immersed and operational. The investigation will determine how the worker accessed the pond and whether safety procedures, electrical isolation and closure arrangements were followed.
The death places attention on the operational risks associated with temporary civic infrastructure. Artificial ponds are created to manage festival-related immersion activity within the city, but their functioning depends on electrical pumps, access controls and arrangements to keep people away from the water and machinery when the facilities are not in use.
The case also follows another electric-shock incident reported in July, when two college students fell unconscious after coming into contact with an exposed underground electrical wire while crossing a waterlogged stretch of the Sion-Panvel highway in Navi Mumbai. They were rescued by an auto driver and taken to hospital.
In the Jogeshwari case, police have not announced any finding of negligence. The next steps are expected to depend on the investigation into the pump’s operation, the pond’s closure and the circumstances in which Rathod entered the facility.
