At least four killed, three injured after electrocution at Ganesh pandal in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh Minister Sampatiya Uikey inspects the spot with officials and police personnel. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Four youth were killed and three injured after they were electrocuted when sleeping in a Ganpati pandal in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district, police said on Saturday (September 26, 2026).According to police, the incident took place around 5 a.m. on Saturday (September 26, 2026) in the Hirapur village with the Nainpur police station area, when eight men were sleeping in a pandal (tent) after returning from the immersion of the Ganesh idol. Mandla Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Raghuvanshi told The Hindu that, according to the survivors, there was a short circuit in the music amplifier, and a live wire from it touched a metal grill of a small temple where the pandal had been set up, causing seven people to receive electric shocks.“There was a power cut around 3 a.m., and when the power came back, there was a short circuit in the amplifier which caused electric current. One of them was at a distance, so he did not get the shock,” he said. Early reports of the incident, however, claimed that a live wire from an electric pole had fallen on the tent.Mr. Raghuvanshi said that a technical team of the power department was conducting a probe into the matter and that the source of the short circuit was found to be the amplifier.The SP said that any legal action will be taken based on a report from the power department once its inquiry is over.Sub-divisional police officer (SDOP), Nainpur, Manish Raj, said that he had identified four deceased people as Ravi Jharia (23), Jainu Bhanwre (19), Krishna Kumar Bhanwre (18), and Virendra Bhanwre (24).Mr. Raj said that while two injured are being treated at the government hospital in Nainpur and are stable, one person has been referred to the district hospital in Mandla. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and announced financial aid of Rs4 lakh to the families of each diseased. “The news of the demise of four young men in the accident at the Ganesh pandal in Hirapur village of Mandla district is extremely heartbreaking. My humble tribute to the departed souls. In this hour of grief, we all stand with the bereaved families. Instructions have been given to the district administration to provide financial assistance of ₹4-4 lakh to the families of the deceased,” he wrote on X. Published - September 26, 2026 07:06 pm IST