Lightning killed 28 people in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh as many places in north India received rain on Sunday. Thirteen animals, including 10 goats a cow, were also killed by lightning.
Out of the 28 fatalities, 18 were recorded in Rajasthan. Twenty-one people, including six children, were also injured during lightning in various villages in the state, according to the police.
Those killed include seven children in Jaipur, Kota, Jhalawar and Dholpur districts, the police said. Those killed in Jaipur were taking selfies on a watch tower on a hill near the Amber Fort, they added.
In Jhalawar’s Lalgaon village, a 23-year-old shepherd, identified as Tara Singh Bheel, was killed on the spot after a bolt of lightning struck him. Two buffaloes were also killed in the incident, police said.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Governor Kalraj Mishra expressed grief over the loss of lives in the tragedies. Gehlot announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each to the kin of those who lost their lives due to lightning strikes in the state.
He has also ordered compensation for the injured.
In Uttar Pradesh, 10 people including two teenagers, were killed by lightning as rains lashed parts of the state.
In yet another rain-related incident, three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed at a village in Uttarakhand after their house collapsed in a landslide caused due to heavy rains.
The monsoon, however, gave a miss to national capital Delhi which is reeling under heatwave-like conditions. The increased humidity has added to the woes of the people living here.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), meanwhile, said it is expecting a good spell of rain in Delhi and other nearby areas on Monday.
