Storms uproot power line, kill 2 in RK Puram

Two boys aged 16 and 17, and a community dog were electrocuted as intense thunderstorms in the early hours of Sunday caused trees to fall and damage electric wires, which fell on a footpath outside a roadside food stall in RK Puram Sector 1, where the three of them were sleeping, police said.

- Karn Pratap Singh and Aaditya Khatwani

NEW DELHI:

Police said the wires that were damaged were connected to electrical appliances at the stall and an air-cooler placed at the spot. They are probing if there was power pilferage in the case at hand. They identified the victims as Bharat Kumar, 16, and Arvind Kumar, 17, from Madhubani in Bihar.

Police said the owner of the food stall, Sunil Paswan, who is also from Bihar and lives in Najafgarh, called them around 4.30 a.m. about the incident that took place on the footpath right opposite the Bhikaji Cama fire station at Vivekanand Marg.

"Paswan told police that his two employees were sleeping outside the kiosk as per routine. Due to heavy rain and a storm during the night, a tree fell on the kiosk, damaging an electric wire and causing current to flow near the premises. Both employees and a dog came into contact with the live wire," deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel said.