In a tragic incident, a 23-year-old woman and her nine-month-old girl child were charred to death when they accidentally stepped on a dangling live wire lying unattended on the footpath near Hope Farm in Kadugodi police station limits early on Sunday.
They have been identified as Soundarya and Suviksha. By the time people rushed to their help, they were charred to death.
The Kadugodi police have registered an FIR against five Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) officials charging them with causing death due to negligence.
Based on a complaint filed by Santosh Kumar, Soundarya’s husband, the police charged Sriram, Executive Engineer; Chethan S., Assistant Engineer; Subramanya T., Assistant Executive Engineer; Rajanna, Junior Engineer, and Manjunath, station operator.
The accused were questioned and their statements recorded.
Mr. Santosh Kumar, in his complaint, said that the family had gone to his native place, Neyveli, in Tamil Nadu and were returning to their house in AKG Colony. They got down at Silk Board junction and took a bus to Hope Farm to reach their home.
As they were walking on the footpath, Mr. Santosh Kumar, who was ahead, suddenly heard a cry.
As he turned back to check, he found to his horror that Soundarya had stepped on a live wire that had snapped and fallen on the footpath. Mr. Santosh Kumar shouted for help and tried to save his wife and child but he too fell down after getting an electric shock.
By then, passers-by rushed to his help and dragged him away, but Soundarya and the baby died.
The police probe revealed that negligence of Bescom officials. The police summoned them and during questioning they blamed one another for the accident. This made the police to book all of them, a senior police official said.
The Kadugodi police shifted the bodies to a hospital for post-mortem.
Soundarya. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The incident has once again raised the issue of safety of pedestrians.
Bengaluru Central MP P.C. Mohan said: “The electrocution at Hope Farm Junction, where a young woman lost her life, is heart-breaking and highlights the urgency for Bescom to adopt preventive measures. A heightened sense of responsibility from Bescom is crucial in averting such incidents and ensuring a safer environment.”
Whitefield Rising, a citizen’s group, demanded strict action against erring officials.
A Bescom official said two officials had been suspended and the company had been directed by the Energy Minister to work towards finding out vulnerable spots and fixing the problems.
Published - November 19, 2023 11:16 am IST
