Gurgaon: A seven-year-old boy was electrocuted to death while playing in the rain in Sector 52 on Tuesday afternoon after he came into contact with an iron grille that had become live, police said.The child, Firoz Sheikh, was the only son of his parents, from Uttar Dinajpur in West Bengal. His father, Poltu Sheikh, works as a housekeeping staff member at Ardee Mall, while his mother is employed as a domestic help. The family has lived in a slum cluster in the area for the past six to seven years.According to police, Firoz had gone out to play with other children after telling his family he was going to bathe in the rain. When he did not return, his parents and neighbours searched for him for nearly 20 minutes before finding him lying behind a nearby two-storey building.“There are stairs behind our hut leading to a two-storey building. When we looked there, he was lying on the ground,” Poltu said.Police said the boy had touched an iron grille caught earthing after rainwater came into contact with exposed wiring. He was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.“Inquest proceedings have been conducted. We are investigating the cause of the electrocution and whether there were any lapses,” a police officer said.The family said a web of overhead electrical wires runs through the slum settlement and suspects the grille came into contact with a live wire during the rain.Firoz had not yet been admitted to school because of the family’s financial difficulties, but his parents had enrolled him in tuition classes and planned to send him to school this month. Following the postmortem on Wednesday, the family left for their native village to perform the last rites.Separately, a 28-year-old woman from Bihar died after the roof of her rented house collapsed during heavy rain in Dabua Colony of Faridabad on Tuesday morning.The victim, Ladli Khatun, originally from Saran district, had moved to Faridabad barely two months ago with her husband and six-month-old daughter in search of work.Police said she was standing on the roof around 11am when it suddenly gave way. She fell with the collapsing structure and was trapped under the debris. Family members and neighbours pulled her out and rushed her to Civil Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.Police said no written complaint has been received from the family against the house owner. “If a complaint is filed, legal action will be taken accordingly,” an officer said, adding that the circumstances leading to the collapse are being examined.
