On Bijaya day in Rangpur, young decorator worker dies of electrocution from a generator after finishing mandap work

On the day the Durga festival concluded across the country with idol immersion, a tragic accident occurred in Rangpur. Shakil Uddin (19), a decorator worker, died of electrocution while disconnecting a generator at a Puja mandap in Kaunia upazila.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon (21 October) at the Chaitarmore Digholtari Durga Temple in Rajib village of Tepamadhupur Union in the upazila. The deceased, Shakil Uddin, was the son of Jahidul Islam of Mondoltari village in Tepamadhupur Union.

Police and eyewitnesses said Shakil was an employee of the local Mahin Sound and Decorator. After the Puja ended, he went to take down the mandap’s pandal, electrical connections and lighting equipment—in other words, he was doing the post-festival packing-up work.

After removing the pandal, as soon as he touched the generator he was electrocuted and fell to the ground. The sudden accident spread panic among the people present at the scene.

Temple people and Ansar members on duty then rescued him and quickly took him to the Upazila Health Complex. But the doctor on duty there declared him dead.

His family members then took his body home. Amid the festive atmosphere, a shadow of grief has descended on that family in Tepamadhupur; local residents are also deeply saddened by the death of a worker aged only 19.

Tepamadhupur Union Parishad Chairman Md. Rashedul Islam confirmed Shakil’s death.

Kaunia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Badal Kumar Mondal said police were sent to the scene after receiving the news. Preparation of the inquest report on the body and other legal proceedings are under way.

Notably, Puja mandaps run generators, heavy electrical connections and complex lighting systems for several days during the festival; when these are dismantled in haste and carelessness after the festival, the risk of electrocution remains—and this accident has brought that risk back into focus.

Once the police legal proceedings are complete, more official details about the actual cause of the accident are expected to be known.