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Home » My Kolkata » News » Toothpaste in bucket, immersion rod kills boy in Kasba

Mishap

Toothpaste in bucket, immersion rod kills boy in Kasba

Police said the preliminary inquiry suggested that the child was electrocuted after coming in contact with the water

Monalisa Chaudhuri | Published 26.08.21, 05:57 AM
Representational image

Representational image

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A seven-year-old boy accidentally dropped a tube of toothpaste in an aluminium bucket in which water was being heated with an electric immersion rod and was electrocuted when he dipped his hand in the water to fish out the tube.

He was declared dead at a city hospital.

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The incident happened on Wednesday in a house on Kalupara Lane in south Kolkata’s Kasba where Siddhartha Mondal, who police said was 7 years and 11 months old, lived with his mother and her parents.

“Around 10.45am, when his mother was out for work and grandmother was drying clothes outside their house, Siddhartha had sneaked into the washroom and taken the toothpaste in his hand to open it. That was when the accident happened,” said an officer of Kasba police station, who spoke to the family.

Siddhartha’s grandmother told The Telegraph that the child, who was a Class II student in a school in the neighbourhood, missed his online classes in the morning because his mother had some urgent work and had to leave with her mobile phone.

“He was a very well-behaved child. He was taught from the beginning never to enter the washroom when water was being heated. He never disobeyed us. I don’t know what happened today. I was away only for a minute or so,” she said.

The police said the preliminary inquiry suggested that the child was electrocuted after coming in contact with the water.

“Even if you do not touch the immersion rod, the water, too, can become a conductor of electricity if there are impurities in it. Most water samples have impurities unless it is distilled. So, it is always ad-visable not to touch the bucket or the water when the immersion heater rod is switched on,” said Sk. Emdadul Islam, former director, BITM, Calcutta.

Normally, all heating immersion rods have a handle encapsulated with plastic. “It is best only to touch the handle while switching the gadget on,” he added.

Siddhartha’s mother Sampa, a single mother, had been bringing up her only son at her parents’ place since her separation from her husband soon after their marriage, family members said. Her father is a van rickshaw-puller and her brother drives an e-rickshaw.

“Siddhartha was a very intelligent child,” the bereaved grandmother said.

Kasba police station has registered an unnatural death case.

Last updated on 26.08.21, 05:57 AM
Tags: Mishap
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