5 electrocuted in Bogura during Ratha Yatra
Bogura Correspondent
At least five people, including three women, died and 25-30 others were injured after being electrocuted during the Ratha Yatra (chariot procession) in Bogura on Sunday.
The incident took place at Seujgari Amtola intersection in the town this afternoon.
Confirming the news of casualties, Bogura Superintendent of Police (SP) Sudip Kumar Chakraborty said the critically injured were undergoing treatment at Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College and Hospital.
Four of the deceased were Ranjita, 60, of Gohail in Shajahanpur upazila, Naresh Mahanta, 60, of Kundugram in Adamdighi upazila, Atoshi Rani, 40, a resident of the Tinmatha Railgate area in Sadar upazila, and Alok Kumar, 42, of Kulupara in Shibganj upazila of Bogura.
Locals said the chariot procession started from Seujgari ISKCON Temple around 5pm.
The dome of the chariot came in contact with a high-voltage overhead electric wire when the procession reached the Amtola intersection. Since the dome was made of steel, it electrocuted the individuals holding it, they said.
Ratha Yatra is a journey in a chariot with deities of Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), Balaram (his brother), and Subhadra (his sister) on a Rath, a wooden deula-shaped chariot accompanied by people in colourful procession every year on the second day of the lunar eclipse.
