National wrestler Vishal Kumar Verma dies of electrocution at Jharkhand's Jaipal Singh Stadium

A tragic incident took place in Ranchi when Vishal Kumar Verma, a wrestler of national repute, died after being electrocuted in Jharkhand State Wrestling Association office, situated at the Jaipal Singh Stadium, on Tuesday afternoon. According to a report in  The Telegraph, the 22-year-old national player was visiting the state association’s office on Tuesday around 2 pm when a loose wire hanging in the washroom killed the wrestler. The washroom was reportedly flooded, which is believed to be the reason for the death of Verma. [caption id=“attachment_3267750” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The wrestler was rushed to the Ranchi Sadar Hospital, but died on the way. The state wrestling association has announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh for Verma’s family. “Preliminary investigation has revealed that death was due to electrocution. Vishal was using a water pump to clear out the water when the incident took place. Faulty wiring seems to be main cause for this incident,” Shyamanand Mandal, an officer of the Kotwali police station was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Bholanath Singh, the secretary of Jharkhand’s wrestling association, however, put the onus on the Ranchi Municipal Corporation for the incident. “The RMC has been claiming renovation of the stadium for years, but changes are far from visible. The ground floor is almost always flooded in monsoon,” Singh told The Telegraph. An unnamed official laid bare the negligence of the authorities in this matter. “The building has been labelled risky (by RMC), but players still live there and offices function. Sustained negligence has cost a life,” the source told The Telegraph. Meanwhile, the general manager of Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam, Ganesh Jha, denied any mistake from their side. “An executive engineer visited the site and reported that there is no fault in the power connection provided by JBVNL. However, there could be a loose connection in the building’s internal electrical wiring,” Jha was quoted as saying by the Times of India. Singh noted that Verma had represented the state at various championships since 2005, having come fourth in senior nationals this year. The Jharkhand wrestling association has asked the state government to provide a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Verma’s family, having themselves provided an ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 to the family, till one of the four sisters of Verma gets a job.