Kalkai park
| Photo Credit: File photo

A nine-year-old boy died after he came in contact with an open switchboard attached to an electric pole while he was playing at a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) park in south-east Delhi’s Kalkaji, said the police on Sunday.

A case has been registered at Kalkaji Police Station against unknown persons under sections 289 (negligent conduct with respect to machinery) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The incident occurred on Saturday night when the deceased, Aryaman Chaudhary, a resident of DDA Flats in Kalkaji, went to take the ball that fell near the electric pole in the park, said police.

The police received information about the incident at 9.30 p.m. “When Aryaman tried to retrieve the ball, he accidentally touched the open switchboard and received a severe electric shock,” an officer said.

He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by locals and his family, but doctors declared him brought dead.

The police said an investigation is under way to identify those responsible for the maintenance of electric infrastructure at the park.

The MCD, in a statement, said “Upon inspection by officials, it was confirmed that the electrical panel belongs to BSES and appears to be used to supply electricity to adjacent residential buildings. This panel is not under the jurisdiction or maintenance of MCD, and is not linked to any park.”