Panel formed to probe electrocution of 2 children near Durga pandal in MP

Jabalpur, Sep 25 (PTI) A three-member committee has been formed to investigate an electrocution incident near a Durga pandal which claimed the lives of two children in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district, officials said on Thursday.

The two children, aged 8 and 10, died after they suffered an electric shock near the pandal in the Bargi Hills area on Wednesday, they said.

The incident occurred due to lighting decorations installed by the organisers outside the pandal without a proper electricity connection. As a result, the current spread through a pole, which the children came into contact with, leading to their deaths, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Gorakhpur, Anurag Singh, told PTI Videos on Wednesday.

A preliminary investigation suggested that while the organisers had taken a proper electricity connection for the pandal itself, they had not done so for the external decorations, he said.

On the directives of Madhya Pradesh PWD Minister Rakesh Singh, Jabalpur Collector Raghavendra Singh has formed a three-member team led by the SDM to investigate the incident, an official said.

The collector has directed the team to investigate the causes of the incident, probe all possible angles, and submit a report within three days, the official said.

The PWD minister on Wednesday expressed grief over the incident and directed the district collector to provide Rs 2 lakh assistance each through Red Cross to the kin of the two victims. PTI COR MAS GK