Private firms’ daily wager electrocuted while disconnecting 11kV wire, second death within fortnight

Gurugram: Police have booked two employees of a private firm in Gurugram after one of its daily wagers allegedly died of electrocution while he was trying to disconnect a 11kV wire on an electric pole on Wednesday, said officials on Thursday

Gurugram: Police have booked two employees of a private firm in Gurugram after one of its daily wagers allegedly died of electrocution while he was trying to disconnect a 11kV wire on an electric pole on Wednesday, said officials on Thursday.

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Power supply along the lines was on when the incident took place near Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited’s (HVPNL) guest house on Mehrauli-Gurugram road at 10.30am on Wednesday, said police, adding that the private firm works on projects of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN).

Tazrul Haq, an eyewitness and colleague of the deceased — identified as Sheikh Chotu (27), a native of West Bengal’s Malda — said officials of the private firm has asked them to disconnect high-tension wires and dig out two poles to make underground connection there, mentioning that power supply along the lines were already disconnected. “Chintu climbed the pole using a ladder and secured himself with a harness, but died of electrocution as soon as he touched the iron channels to reach up to the wires,” Haq said.

The power supply was disconnected immediately after the workers present at the spot informed their seniors about the incident, and Chintu’s body was brought down with the help of a crane, he added.

Based on a complaint filed by Chotu’s brother Sheikh Khairul (24), an FIR was registered against an engineer and a contractor of the private firm under sections 34 (common intention) and 304(II) (if act done with knowledge that is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Civil Lines police station on Wednesday evening, said police.

A senior DHBVN engineer, requesting anonymity, said, “Prima facie, it seems that the Chotu died due to negligence by the engineer of the private firm.”

“An investigation is underway,” said inspector Pankaj Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Civil Lines police station, adding that power department officials have been asked to submit a report on how the electricity supply was not turned off when the incident took place.

This is the second such incident in Gurugram within a fortnight. On June 19, Rajesh Kumar (24), a contractual employee of a private firm working for DHBVN, was allegedly killed in Sector-14 after getting electrocuted when he was asked to climb up a pole for changing transformer while power supply was still on. Five DHBVN employees including an SDO and two engineers were booked for death due to negligence in an FIR registered at Sector-14 police station on June 20.