Footpaths turn deadly: Bengaluru youth gets electrocuted

A footpath in Bengaluru turned deadly for a 22-year-old man after he was electrocuted when he came in contact with a high-tension cable wire as he was returning from work.

A 22-year-old daily wage labourer was electrocuted and died on the spot after he caught a live cable on a footpath in Sanjaynagar on Monday evening as he was returning from work.

Representational Image (Unsplash)

Reports said the incident took place at around 7:30 p.m. when the deceased, identified as Kishore, a resident of Mattikere, was walking on a footpath near a park with his brother. He reportedly saw a wire hanging from a tree, which he caught and tried to pull out from where it was stuck, but he got electrocuted instantly and died.

Passers-by and onlookers immediately alerted the Sanjaynagar police station, after which, police rushed to the spot and found Kishore's body lying on the footpath, holding onto the wire. Reports added that the power department officials were asked to immediately cut the power supply in the area for some time, after which Kishore's bosy was taken for post-mortem procedures to M S Ramaiah hospital.

The deceased's family members have, according to reports, filed a complaint against the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM), the electricity supplier and maintenance board of the city, and alleged that the board's negligence has caused the fatal incident. The family has also filed a complaint against an internet service provider in the matter.

This is the second electrocution incident in less than two weeks. In the first incident that happened earlier this month, 21-year-old Vasant, a resident of Mangammanpally, was electrocuted when he came in close contact with a cut wire hanging from an electric pole amid heavy summer rains in Bengaluru. A case was registered against BESCOM in this matter as well, but it is not clear if any progress has been achieved.

Less than a month before the alarming incident, the Karnataka High Court had summoned BESCOM's Managing Director to explain the inordinate delay in shifting power transformers from public footpaths. The direction came in the backdrop of the death of a father-daughter duo a few days ago after a faulty transformer burst and engulfed them in flames. Two BESCOM officials, who were held for the transformer blast, were however granted bail in the same day of their arrest.

In response to the tragic incident, JDS' Tanveer Ahmed was quoted as saying by a leading news channel that it is not an accidental death, but that it is murder. “Officials have not taken any measures to solve the problem of waterlogging and potholes,” he told.