20-year-old electrocuted on inundated Bhowanipore road
Times of India | 26 October 2024
Kolkata: A 20-year-old vendor of fritters and other fried savouries, Saurabh Gupta, was electrocuted on Justice Dwarkanath Road in Bhowanipore after he stepped on water that was electrified by a live wire that had been drawn from the meter to a metal structure outside by the house owner but had come in contact with the water in the inundated street. CESC has disconnected the meter and said it would file an FIR against the consumer for negligence.
Locals said Gupta, who hailed from Allahabad, got electrocuted when negotiating the waterlogged street near his home. He was unaware that a dangling wire had electrified the water. The wire had originally been drawn by the consumer to install lights on a steel pole that illuminated the facade of a shop that sold milk and milk products. When the victim was taken to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital, he was declared dead.
“Our engineers found an electric wire had been drawn from the meter on 2/3 Justice Dwarakanath Road by the consumer Suparswa Investment Ltd. The rubber coating of the wire had become frayed and exposed it. This wire had come in contact with the water and electrified it,” a CESC official said.