Bengaluru: Five Bescom officials arrested in mother-daughter electrocution incident

Five officials from the Bangalore power supply company have been suspended and arrested after the ghastly double electrocution incident in Bengaluru on Sunday.

As many as five officials from the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) have been suspended and arrested after the tragic double electrocution incident in the city's Whitefield area on Sunday morning. The officials have been suspended for “dereliction of duties”, while two senior officers have also been issued a show cause notice, news agency PTI reported.

The Bescom officials have been released on bail, police said. (iStock)

The horrific incident occurred near the Hope Farm junction, when a 23-year-old woman accidentally stepped on a live wire that was lying on a footpath while carrying her nine-month-old baby girl, which electrocuted both of them instantly.

READ | 23-year-old woman, daughter electrocuted in Bengaluru

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken suo motu cognizance of a media report on the incident, another agency said. Karnataka Energy Minister KJ George had earlier said three Bescom workers including the line man, assistant engineer and the assistant executive engineer had already been suspended for negligence on the day of the tragedy.

“In a non-department fatal electrical accident, Soundarya (23) and her daughter Leela came in contact with a live 11 KV wire fallen on the foot path of Hope Farm Signal and got electrocuted on Sunday morning around 5.30 AM,” A Bescom statement accessed by PTI said.

READ | Karnataka Energy Minister announces ₹5 lakh ex-gratia after tragic mother-daughter electrocution incident

Cops have registered a case of death due to negligence under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and all five of the suspended Bescom employees have been named in the First Information Report (FIR), police told the agency. However, the Bescom officials have been released on bail, they added.

The Karnataka government on Monday announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh for the kin of the victims. Further investigation into the case is underway and more details are awaited.

(With inputs from PTI)