I'm a human lightbulb! The 16-year-old 'electric boy' from India can withstand shocking 11,000 volts without feeling a thing
- Deepak Jangra discovered his 'talent' when fixing mother's heater
- The teenager can resist voltage needed to power 500 houses
- Same amount of power could kill any other human being
- He says: 'I have a gift from God. I feel very privileged'
- But experts warn Deepak: 'This is a disaster waiting to happen'
It's enough to make your hair stand on end.
An Indian teenager has told how he can withstand 11,000 volts passing through his body - and only discovered his bizarre talent by accident when he was repairing his mother’s heater.
Human electricity insulator Deepak Jangra can apparently resist the same amount of voltage required to power 500 houses and even sit with his hands inside a tub of water along with naked live wires.
The 16-year-old claims: ‘I have a gift from God. I feel very privileged. I have the power to do things no-one else can and I don’t intend on wasting it.
‘I used to be scared of electricity but now I am confident. I have tested myself over and over again and I will never get hurt. I can touch a live wire with my tongue and I know nothing will happen to me.’
Electrifying: Deepak can touch live wires with his tongue - and feel nothing. He said: 'I used to be scared of electricity but now I am confident. I have tested myself over and over again and I will never get hurt'
What a shocker: The teenager can resist the same amount of voltage required to power 500 houses and even sit with his hands inside a tub of water along with naked live wires
Bright spark: Deepak believes his ability is a gift and added: ‘I have a gift from God. I feel very privileged. I have the power to do things no-one else can and I don’t intend on wasting it'
Deepak, who is a student, first discovered that he can resist such high levels of electricity three years ago when he was fixing his mother’s portable heater.
He revealed: ‘My mother kept complaining that our heater was broken so I thought I’d take a look and try and fix it myself because we couldn’t afford to take it anywhere and pay someone to fix it.
‘I accidentally touched the live wire with my screwdriver but nothing happened - I didn’t get a shock. But at the time I assumed we must have had a power failure in our village.’
Two weeks later, Deepak got a movie stuck inside his DVD player and decided to take the machine apart to attempt to retrieve the disc.
‘I hit the live wires again but again nothing happened,’ he said.
‘This time I knew something amazing had just happened. I touched it again and again, and then went outside to check the power supply was ok.
‘That was the day I realised there was something unusual about me.’
Wonder boy: Locals frequently asked Deepak to repair equipment or electric line faults in their village, where he has become something of a celebrity
Proud family: Deepak (standing, centre) poses with brother Sushil (left), mum Khajani (right) and younger brother Sunil (sitting)
He has tried light bulbs, TV wires, an electric woodcutter and an electrical water pump but each time, he would simply stop the devices working but not suffer any injuries.
If anyone else were to attempt the same, it is highly likely they would be killed instantly.
He added: ‘I experimented with different levels of voltages and my body was still unaffected.
'I could cope with 110 volts, 240 volts, 440 volts and my curiosity kept on growing. I wanted to know more and more. How much I could actually cope with?’
To find out, Deepak decided to test his limits by climbing an electric pole in a nearby field to touch the 11,000 voltage high-tension wire that powers his village.
Soon, a crowd had gathered beneath him and started screaming in fear as they thought he was trying to commit suicide.
Deepak said: ‘I was hanging from the pole touching the wires and I think people thought I was crazy.
'My mother came running over and started begging me to come down. She thought I was killing myself.
'But once people saw me touch the wires and walk away unscathed, everyone started cheering. I surprised everyone.’
Human conductor: Deepak can withstand an incredible 11,000 volts - which could kill another human being
A voltage as low as 50 volts applied between two parts of the human body can cause a current to flow that blocks the electrical signals between the brain and the muscles, causing a shock.
But the true measure of shock's intensity lies in the amount of current - measured in amperes - that is forced though the body, and not the voltage.
Deepak - who is now known as Wonder Boy in his remote village near Sonipat, in Haryana, northern India - is frequently asked by local families to repair equipment or electric line faults.
But he refuses to charge for his services, as he does not believe in profiting from financially from his gift and added: ‘I’m out most days doing some kind of repair work now.
‘I work with my bare hands without any pliers or other equipment. But I don’t charge anything, I don’t make any money.’
And Deepak, who dreams of becoming a manager in the government’s electricity department, also revealed he has never hurt himself doing his stunts except burning the tips of his fingers if he holds a live wire long enough.
Deepak's worried schoolteacher urged him to see a doctor, but their tests returned nothing of note.
He added: ‘Doctors did some blood test and did an overall check up but they found nothing wrong with me.
‘Instead they started taking pictures of me on their camera, like I was some famous Bollywood actor or something. It was quite funny.'
Wired up: Deepak with his mother Khajani. She said: 'Can you believe my boy doesn’t get electric shocks? I have two other sons but they are as normal as any other human. Only Deepak has this special power'
But experts have warned against copying Deepak's behaviour, and Emma Apter from Electrical Safety First said: 'This is a life-threatening activity and one which we strongly advise against.
'Electricity has the potential to kill or seriously injure anyone unfortunate enough to come in to contact with it, so it is baffling that someone would voluntarily put themselves at such risk.
'In the UK alone, we estimate that 350,000 people are seriously injured by electricity each year and at Electrical Safety First we are regrettably only too familiar with the devastating impact that electrical accidents can have.
'This is a disaster waiting to happen and we would urge anyone attempting it to think twice about the potentially horrific consequences of such an action”.
While Deepak - who had an insulated upbringing - relishes his incredible talent, his widowed mother, Khajani Devi, 35, who has two other sons Sushil, 18, and 12-year-old Sunil, finds it difficult to understand his amazing abilities.
Khajani, who earns 2,500 Rupees (£25) a month as a dinner lady at the local school, said: ‘Can you believe my boy doesn’t get electric shocks? I have two other sons but they are as normal as any other human. Only Deepak has this special power.
'I feel it is the blessing of his late father. His father passed away in October 2011 and in April 2012 he found he had this talent.’
High voltage: Ambitious student Deepak now dreams of becoming a manager in the government’s electricity department
Gaurav Singh, 25, an electrical engineer from Delhi, said: ‘The power of 11,000 volts is fatal.
'Even if a man is standing five meters away he can get pulled by the high-tension wire and burn to death. If a person touches 11,000 volts, he wouldn’t get a shock - he would die instantly.
‘A high voltage power line is used to supply electricity to villages and towns. If it can supply electricity to 1,000 kilometres, you can imagine how powerful it is
****************************************************************
*********************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment