Two people died in separate incidents during Durga Puja celebrations in Rangpur, with a 19-year-old man electrocuted while dismantling a puja pandal in Kaunia and a woman dying after collapsing while performing arati at a temple in Badarganj.
Shakil Uddin, son of Zahidul Islam and Sajeda Begum of Mondoltari Madhupur village in Tepamdhupur union of Kaunia upazila, died around 11am on Wednesday while removing decorative and lighting equipment installed for the festival.
Shakil worked at Mahin Sound and Decorator, an establishment at Madhupur Bazar.
Kaunia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Badal Kumar Mondal said police had visited the scene after receiving the news. No complaint had been filed by the deceased’s family, and legal procedures, including preparation of the inquest report, were underway.
According to local residents and police, he went to the temple around 8am to dismantle the pandal, electrical connections and lighting equipment. After finishing the dismantling work, he was preparing to remove the electrical lines and lighting equipment when he was electrocuted after touching a generator.
People present at the temple and members of the Ansar force on duty rescued him and took him to Kaunia Upazila Health Complex, where the attending physician declared him dead.
In the other incident, Archana Rani died after collapsing while performing arati before the Durga idol at the Namanpara Durga temple in Ramnathpur union of Badarganj upazila around 9:30pm on Sunday.
According to eyewitnesses and local sources, Archana was sitting among the audience and enjoying the ritual accompanied by music when she told the musicians to play well, saying she would sing, perform arati and dance.