A Jamia University student was electrocuted to death after he climbed on top of a rail tanker to settle a debate he had with a cousin over its contents and came in contact with a high tension wire above it on March 4. Police said the youth had climbed atop the tanker and while taking a selfie to show his might, got electrocuted.
The police have not registered a case and have ruled out foul play. Ninteen-year-old Mohammad Ayub died on the spot there itself. The goods train was stationed some distance away from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway station when the incident happened, said the police.
Ayub was a resident of Old Delhi’s Farash Khana near Chandni Chowk and had gone to attend a cousin’s wedding in Nizamuddin area on the day of the incident.
His mother Nasreen said that Ayub and his three cousins had left the cousin’s home at around 5 pm for the evening prayers at a shrine in Chilla Sharif next built in an open area close to the tracks.
“After the prayers the stationery train caught the attention of the boys and made them curious about which liquid it was carrying. As a few drops spilled out from the bottom, they started arguing among themselves,” said Ms Nasreen recalling what her nephews, the eyewitnesses, had told her.
Ayub decided to go and check for himself what the container was indeed carrying. A mounted ladder made it easier to climbed atop one of the wagons.
“No sooner did he went up, the current flowing through the wire pulled him towards himself. Within minutes, he was charred to death,” said Nasreen.
She also dismissed media reports of Ayub’s death being a failed attempt at clicking a selfie. “If anything, he was too camera shy. Even at the wedding, he had to be asked to pose for pictures and he reluctantly agreed to be clicked for just one. Plus he had a basic phone without a camera so the question doesn’t arise,” said the boy’s mother.
A police officer also ruled out the selfie angle and said that the phone of the deceased was found in his pocket when the body was brought down. He added that the current flowing through the wire was 25,000 volts, investigations have revealed.