Bhubaneswar: Body of a 14-year-old boy, who was electrocuted while watching a Ramleela performance in Odisha’s Puri district, was transported in a pick-up van for postmortem on Sunday, sparking serious concerns about the state of emergency services in the area.
According to sources, the victim, identified as Subham Pradhan, a Class 8 student from Parala village in Krushnaprasad block near Chilika Lake, had gone to the nearby Bhabanipur village to watch the traditional Ramleela enactment. During the performance, the boy reportedly screamed on seeing the actor portraying Lord Hanuman and began running away. The actor playfully chased him, leading Subham to unintentionally touch an electrical transformer. He was electrocuted on the spot.
Sources further stated that there was no fencing or boundary around the transformer.
Compounding the family’s grief and community anger was the manner in which the boy’s body was handled. Due to the unavailability of ambulances or Mahaprayana (hearse) services in Krushnaprasad block, a pick-up van was used for transportation of the body on Sunday morning.
