The national Capital witnessed two cases of deaths due to electrocution and that too within a span of half an hour on Sunday. While a 34-woman was killed in front of the New Delhi Railway station, a 17-year old youth died nearly 30 minutes prior to Sakhshi Ahuja’s death.

He was identified as Sohail. He was electrocuted to death after suffering an electric shock on a water-logged pathway in the area of New Friends Colony (NFC). It is being said that a live electric wire had fallen on the pathway, which led to the incident.

The death of 17-year-old Sohail has come to light on a day the National Human Rights Commission sent notices to the chairman of the Railway Board, the Delhi government and the city police over the woman’s death, pointing to “life-threatening lapses” and “apparent negligence of the authorities”.

Sohail, a Bengaluru resident, had come to his uncle’s house in south Delhi’s New Friends Colony about 45 days ago for his holidays. He used to stay at his uncle’s house during the day and go to the house of another relative, Jamal, in East Delhi’s Seemapuri at night to sleep.

Amid heavy rain since Saturday night, the teenager left Jamal’s house early on Sunday to return to his uncle’s house. He reached Taimoor Nagar near his uncle’s house around 5 am and found that a street was waterlogged.

When he stepped into the water to get across, passersby heard Sohail scream and collapse. They noticed a wire in the water and called the police, who got the power disconnected. Members of Sohail’s family - which is originally from West Bengal - said he was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. The police have registered a complaint and begun an investigation.

Half an hour later and 16 km away from Taimoor Nagar, Sakshi Ahuja, a 34-year-old teacher, reached New Delhi railway station around 5:30 am with her children — aged seven and nine — father and other members of her family. She held on to an electric pole to avoid puddles when she suffered a massive electric shock, causing her death.