Ranchi: Two school students were killed and seven others injured on Monday after an iron chariot they were pulling came in contact with a high-tension overhead wire in the Torpa area of Khunti district.Officials said all the victims were students or former students of Shree Hari +2 School, Torpa. During the lunch break, they went to a chariot kept near a temple after the traditional Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra. While attempting to turn the chariot, its tip touched the live wire, causing the tragedy.Local residents rushed the injured students to the government referral hospital. Doctors referred two critically injured students, Chandan Kumar, 17, and Tijeshwar Gope, 17, to the district hospital, but both succumbed to their injuries on the way.The injured were identified as Rupesh Singh, 17, Arman Alam, 16, Pankaj Ram, 17, Giriraj Yadav, 17, Sujay Lohra, 13, Nilay Ekka, 17, and Kamlesh Gope, 20. Kamlesh is a former student of the school.Khunti deputy commissioner Jawed Hussain said senior officers, including the sub-divisional officer, were sent to the spot for relief operations. He added that all injured students recovered during treatment and were sent home.He said, “The administration has formed a committee comprising the SDO, Torpa block development officer, district education officer and the executive engineer (EE) to inquire into the cause of incident. They would also find out if anyone had told the students to move the chariot. The EE has also been asked to inspect the power supply lines and rectify all the sagging wires.”School principal Kiran Herenz said many students go home for lunch, but she could not explain how they reached the chariot. The incident raised concern over safety near festival structures and risks from low-hanging power cables locally.
