Man dies of electrocution after bicycle falls into pothole in Faridabad, and he hits electric pole

Police said residents had complained that the road had remained damaged following digging work and was waterlogged due to clogged sewer lines for nearly six months. Rainfall on Tuesday may have worsened the waterlogging and contributed to electrical leakage

A 45-year-old factory worker was electrocuted after he lost balance while cycling through a pothole on a sewage-filled road and fell against an electric pole fitted with a transformer in Faridabad’s Sanjay Colony, police said on Friday.

Police said the incident took place on Tuesday night when Tiwari was returning home from work. CCTV footage showed his bicycle hitting a pothole on the waterlogged road, causing him to lose balance and fall against the pole. (HT)

The victim, Dinesh Tiwari, a native of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, lived with his wife and three daughters in Shiv Colony. He was the family’s sole breadwinner.

Police said the incident took place on Tuesday night when Tiwari was returning home from work. CCTV footage showed his bicycle hitting a pothole on the waterlogged road, causing him to lose balance and fall against the pole.

A senior police officer said locals alerted the police control room, following which the power supply was disconnected and Tiwari’s body was removed. The body was handed over to his family after an autopsy on Wednesday.

An inquiry under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita is underway at Mujesar police station, the officer said.

Police said residents had complained that the road had remained damaged following digging work and was waterlogged due to clogged sewer lines for nearly six months. Rainfall on Tuesday may have worsened the waterlogging and contributed to electrical leakage, they said.

Ward 4 councillor Sangeeta Bhardwaj said she had repeatedly written to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA), seeking cleaning of sewer lines in the area.

“No action was ever taken. Erring officials must be booked, no matter which department they belong to,” she said.

FMDA executive engineer Om Dutt said four tenders had been floated for cleaning the sewer lines, but no firm took up the work. “Thus, a fresh tender was issued now,” he said.

A senior MCF official said an inquiry would be conducted to determine the cause of the sewage overflow and fix responsibility. “Action will be taken against the erring officials. The family will be compensated,” he said.

Mohit Yadav, sub-divisional officer (Faridabad NIT-3) of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, said a departmental inquiry was underway.

“We are awaiting the autopsy report. Once ascertained that he was electrocuted, compensation will be given to the family,” he said.