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Nagpur: Even as the tragedy that killed 11 year old twins Priyansh and Piyush Dhar was yet to fade from the minds of people and their parents were still to recover from the biggest shock of their lives, yet another boy had to pay with his life owing to the negligence of electricity department.
5-year-old Swayam Pande lost his life after coming in contact with an 11 KV high tension line on Hingna Road. Once again violating the Supreme Court’s directives, the city police refused to register a First Information Report (FIR).
The incident took place on Tuesday afternoon on the terrace of Mukund Restaurant at IC Square. The HT line passes barely a foot above the terrace.
Around 2.30pm, Swayam was playing alone on the terrace of his residence which is adjoining the restaurant. Not aware of the danger posed by the HT lines, he jumped to the restaurant’s terrace over which two cables pass.
Swayam was trying to slide beneath the cable when he suddenly got electrocuted. “There was a loud blast and when we went to the terrace, we saw Swayam stuck to the wire with his back burnt badly. He was already dead,” said Swayam’s uncle Naresh Pande.
Swayam’s mother was trying to rescue him by going near the wire when she was stopped by neighbours. “She was hoping that her son was alive. Had she touched the body, she too would have lost her life,” said neighbours, who finally used a wooden pole to bring the body down.
Swayam’s body was taken to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for post-mortem which confirmed that the death occurred due to electrocution.
The aggrieved neighbours went to MIDC police station on Wednesday afternoon, demanding that an FIR be registered. According to them, there have been four more deaths due to electrocution by the same HT line.
MIDC police inspector Sunil Mahadik told them that MSEDCL was not at fault. When TOI pointed out that SC rules say that an FIR has to be registered, Mahadik said that he will first investigate the matter as “he was not sure about who was guilty”.
“We are going to send letters to MSEDCL and Nildoh (village) gram panchayat to find out who gave a ‘no objection certificate’ to the restaurant owner,” said Mahadik.
Swayam’s father Umesh Pande said that the restaurant owner was at fault as the “construction was illegal”. “Who gave the owner permission to build the first floor right below the high tension cable? Neither MSEDCL nor the gram panchayat has taken any action since last ten years,” the father said.
According to District Bar Association (DBA) president Prakash Jaiswal, the police should have registered an immediate FIR against concerned official of MSEDCL and owner of the restaurant. “As per rules, it was MSEDCL’s responsibility to stop the construction under the HT line,” he said.
MSEDCL spokesperson Ajit Igatpurikar said that the company was ready to pay compensation of Rs4 lakhs after receipt of electrical inspector’s report. As per Electricity Rules, 1956, MSEDCL has to conduct periodical inspection to ensure that HT lines do not cause threat to human life.
Igatpurikar said that MSEDCL had issued notice to the restaurant owner. “We are looking for the copy of the notice. We cannot physically prevent anybody from going ahead with constructions. It is the job of gram panchayat,” he added.
Mukund Mange, owner of the restaurant, claimed that the accident happened because the wires had sagged. “My restaurant does not have stairs leading to the terrace,” he added
