6 days after teen’s electrocution death, FIR registered against Chandigarh power dept officials
Deputy commissioner Vinay Partap Singh had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and also suspended two Chandigarh power department officials -- executive engineer Rohit Kumar Sekhri and sub-divisional engineer Madan Kumar
Six days after a 17-year-old boy was electrocuted to death near a transformer in Sector 8, the UT police lodged an FIR against the UT electricity department and unidentified persons.
The case has been registered under Section 106 (death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Sector 3 police station.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the height of the transformer was low due to which the boy came in contact with the live wire, leading to his death. The victim was attempting to take a short cut while returning from the gym on July 17 when the tragedy took place.
The FIR comes a day after a forensic team visited the tragedy spot.
On Friday, deputy commissioner Vinay Partap Singh had ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and also suspended two power department officials -- executive engineer Rohit Kumar Sekhri and sub-divisional engineer Madan Kumar.
UT administrator Banwari Lal Purohit had also visited the spot on Friday which jolted officials to take action, sources said. Purohit had asked to fix accountability within the department concerned.
Initially, the UT electricity department had tried to hush up the matter, stating that no safety lapses were found at the spot.
UT chief engineer CB Ojha had said, “We found no safety lapses as the area was properly restricted for entry with a four-ft grille. The teenager may have come in contact with the wire after which he got electrocuted. The transformer was properly insulated.”
Cop is complainant in the case
A cop, sub-inspector (SI) Kulwant Singh has been made complainant in the case. It has been stated in the FIR that the boy, aged 16, died due to electricity shock, in front of house number 1088, Sector 8, on July 17.
Inspector Narinder Patial, station house officer (SHO) of Sector 3 police station, said that the probe marked by the administration will run parallel to the police investigation. “We sent a forensic team to the spot and found that the height of the transformer was low and anyone (walking near it) was at risk. It is a clear case of negligence and we will be summoning the electricity department officials for questioning in the matter,” he said.