Bhubaneswar: A Ram Leela performance at a village in Puri district turned tragic late Saturday night when a 14-year-old spectator, running in fear after an actor portraying Hanuman leapt into the crowd, was electrocuted after accidentally colliding with an unfenced electric transformer.The victim, identified as Subham Pradhan, a Class VIII student from Parala village in Krushnaprasad block near Chilika lake, had gone to Bhabanipur village to watch the performance.According to the police, Subham panicked when the actor portraying Lord Hanuman jumped into the crowd. As the actor playfully chased him, the boy ran towards a nearby transformer and got electrocuted.“We have registered a case of unnatural death. It was an unfortunate incident. We are investigating if negligence contributed to the boy’s death,” said Bichitrananda Pradhan, inspector in-charge of Krushnaprasad police station.He added that the actor who played Hanuman will be questioned to ascertain the circumstances leading to the tragedy. “A local villager had invited the troupe from Nayagarh to stage Ram Leela on the occasion of his newborn son’s naming ceremony. Around 50 or 60 people from nearby villages had gathered to watch the play,” Pradhan said.Due to the lack of an ambulance or Mahaprayana (hearse) service in Krushnaprasad block, Subham’s body was transported in a pick-up van on Sunday morning.Locals have demanded accountability from electricity authorities for failing to secure the transformer. “We have asked the local electrical engineer to install fencing around the transformer to prevent such incidents,” inspector Pradhan said.
