16 children electrocuted during Shivratri procession in Kota

Sixteen children and two others participating in 'Shiv Barat' on the occasion of Mahashivratri here sustained burn injuries after getting electrocuted on Friday noon, officials said.

The children, aged 10-16 years, were electrocuted from a high-tension power line passing overhead in the Sakatpura area under the Kunhari police station, they said.

A boy holding the iron rod that came in contact with the power line received 100 percent burns, while four others sustained around 40-50 percent burns, officials said.

All of them were referred to SMS Hospital in Jaipur after being initially treated at Kota's MBS Hospital.

Eleven other boys and a man and a woman also sustained injuries and were under treatment in MBS Hospital, they said.

Kota city SP Amrita Duhan told PTI that local women with water pots on their heads and children, some of them holding flags attached to iron rods, were part of the ‘Shiv Barat' for Kathaat temple in Kalibasti

One of the boys in the procession was holding a 22-foot-high iron flagpole, which came in contact with a high-tension line passing overhead around noon, the SP said.

A local present at the site said when the flagpole came in contact with the power line, he was electrocuted and flung into the air. Others, in an attempt to rescue the boy, tried to pull the rod away from him but also received electric shocks, the local said.

The women carrying the pots dropped them, spilling water on the ground, leading to commotion at the spot, the local added.

At least 16 children and a 28-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman with burn injuries were admitted to the emergency and burn wards of MBS Hospital on Friday noon, superintendent Dr Dharmraj Meena said.

Five of the children, including one with 100 percent burn injury were referred to SMS Hospital in Jaipur after primary medical care in Kota while the 13 others were under treatment in emergency and burn wards at MBS Hospital, he said.

Those referred to SMS Hospital were identified as Shugan (13), Koshal (7), Suraj (12), Annirudh (8) and Yash (10), the superintendent said.

Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla, state energy minister Heeralal Nagar, Kota district collector Ravindra Goswami, Kota city SP Amrita Duhan, former MLA Phralad Gunjal and BJP leader Chandra Kanta Meghwal reached the MBS hospital and supervised medical care to the injured children.

The police have not yet received any report on the incident, however, family members of the victims, angry at the organisers of the procession, created a ruckus at the spot in Sakatpura area.

The police had to intervene and pacify them, SHO at Kunhari Police Station Arvind Bhardwaj said.

The organisers had not obtained prior permission for the event from the administration, however, the police have not registered any case as no report has been received on the matter so far, Bhardwaj said Friday evening.