28-Year-Old Man Electrocuted by Defunct Lamppost in East Delhi's Anand Vihar

A 28-year-old man was electrocuted after coming in contact with a defunct lamppost on a road divider in east Delhi’s Anand Vihar on Wednesday evening. The victim's body was discovered early the following morning lying in a pit adjacent to the pole, which is under the maintenance of the Public Works Department (PWD).

The deceased was identified as Sandeep, who worked as a caretaker in a nearby colony. Police stated that the incident took place around 8 pm on Somnath Marg while Sandeep was on his way back home from work. He is believed to have touched or brushed past the lamppost installed on the road divider.

Sandeep's family members began searching for him after he failed to return home at his routine hour. His uncle, 68-year-old Sunderlal, said he tried reaching Sandeep on his mobile phone around 9:50 pm. According to Sunderlal, an unidentified stranger answered the phone and abruptly disconnected the call. The mobile phone has remained missing since then.

Following the phone call, the family searched the streets for nearly two hours but could not trace his whereabouts during the night.

On Thursday morning around 7 am, police personnel located Sandeep's body inside the pit next to the lamppost. An autopsy conducted subsequently confirmed that the cause of death was electrocution.

While the victim's family raised allegations of foul play behind his death, the police denied the claim. Police officials stated that they will reach out to civic agencies to determine if there was any negligence or laxity on the part of the authorities responsible for maintaining the infrastructure. A response from the PWD is currently awaited.

Sandeep was the sole breadwinner for his household. Orphaned at the age of six months, he was raised by his aunt and uncle in a small one-room flat located in Shahdara’s Bihari Colony.