Two Women Among 7 Killed In Lightning Strikes Across Jharkhand

Ranchi: At least seven people, including two women and an eight-year-old girl, died in lightning strikes across Jharkhand, police officers said on Tuesday. The deaths were reported from Ranchi, Bokaro, Deoghar, Dumka, Hazaribag, Latehar, and Palamu districts since Monday.

In Ranchi district, a 26-year-old farmer was struck by lightning while ploughing his field under Angara police station limits.

“The deceased was identified as Bhagirath Mahto (26), a resident of the same village. The victim was taken to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead,” Angara police station officer in-charge Gautam Kumar Rajwar said.

In Bokaro, a 19-year-old youth identified as Alok Kumar Turi was killed while he had taken shelter under a tree near Bokaro Airport area under Town police station limits, Bokaro SDPO Rajeev Ranjan said.

In Palamu, a man died after being struck by lightning while grazing cattle. The deceased was identified as Raju Yadav (27), a resident of Kundelwa village under Sadar police station limits, a police officer said. A 36-year-old woman labourer died in Khutra village under Ichak police station limits in Hazaribag district.

“The deceased was identified as Shobha Devi. She died after being struck by lightning while she stepped out of her house to bring back her four children, who were collecting blackberries near their house,” Ichak police station officer in-charge Gautam Kumar said. He said the victim’s body was sent to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.

In Latehar, a 45-year-old woman was struck by lightning in Ganeshpur village under Balumath police station limits. The deceased was identified as Tejni Devi, an official said.

An eight-year-old girl died after a lightning bolt struck her while she was playing outside her house in Koyridih village under Jasidih police station limits in Deoghar district.

“The girl had sustained serious burn injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died,” Deepak Kumar, the officer-in-charge of Jasidih police station, said. In Dumka, a 20-year-old woman was struck by lightning in Jadi village under Ramgarh police station limits, a police official said.

“The victim Moni Besra was taken to the community hospital centre, where doctors declared her dead,” Anand Pandey, the Co-ordinator of National Health Mission (NHM) of Ramgarh block, said.