A 50-year-old man playing the role of Lord Hanuman in a Ramlila died on stage during his performance in Salempur village of Fatehpur district.
The incident happened on Saturday night when Ram Swaroop, who was dressed as Lord Hanuman, suffered a heart attack after his tail caught fire.
“During Ramlila's presentation, soon after the tail of Hanuman was set afire, Ram Swaroop, who was playing the character, slumped to the ground and died within a minute. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead," an official said.
According to reports, Ram Swaroop's wife Anusuiya and other family members were present when the incident took place.
"He is survived by his wife and two-year-old daughter, Roopa," officials said.
Village head Gulab said Ram Swaroop used to ferry a cart to make his living.
The family performed the last rites of the body on Sunday evening without informing the police.
Station House Officer of Dhata, Praveen Kumar, said the incident had come to his notice and a police team would visit the village to investigate the incident.
In yet another similar incident in Mainpuri, a young man, Ravi Sharma, was playing the role of Lord Hanuman in a play staged on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi a few days back. He was seen dancing on the stage during his act when he suddenly slumped on the ground and later died in the hospital.
Meanwhile, in another freak mishap, a teenage girl was seriously injured in Aligarh while she was taking part in Maharaja Agrasen Shobha Yatra on Sunday.
According to eyewitnesses, the girl was clicking photos and recording the procession with her relative when her hair got stuck in the genset fan mounted on a horse-driven carriage, which was moving along with the procession.
The victim's hair, along with skin, came out.
The badly injured girl was admitted to a hospital, police sources said.
On hearing the screams of the girl, family members and volunteers of the Agrasen Shobha Yatra shifted the girl to a private nursing home for treatment. The injured girl's brother, Saurav, said, "My sister was clicking photos and video recording the procession when her hair got stuck in the fan of the generator."
Doctors have performed surgery on Aarushi.