THREE LABOURERS ELECTROCUTED TO DEATH IN LUDHIANA
Three labourers working on plastering the facade of a house in Mayapuri Colony were electrocuted to death after they came into contact with high-tension wires passing over the structure on Sunday afternoon. The victims are Rakesh Kumar, 32, Satranjan, 32, and Manoj Kumar, 26.
LUDHIANA : Three labourers working on plastering the facade of a house in Mayapuri Colony were electrocuted to death after they came into contact with high-tension wires passing over the structure on Sunday afternoon.
The victims are Rakesh Kumar, 32, Satranjan, 32, and Manoj Kumar, 26, all of Subhash Nagar. Rakesh Kumar and Satranjan are masons, while Manoj Kumar worked as their assistant.
Two other men who were working with them claimed that the house owner, Raju of Samrala Chowk, had lied to them that the power supply to the wires had been disconnected. The impact of the blast when the labourers came into contact with the wires was so strong that there was a blast and supply to the locality remained suspended for hours.
“A blast occurred in the power supply cable as Rakesh Kumar touched the wire from a makeshift bamboo post that the labourers had erected. The other two, Satranjan Kumar and Manoj Kumar tried to help Rakesh, but they, too, were electrocuted,” said an eyewitness Ashok Kumar.
BODIES LAY ON BAMBOO STRUCTURE FOR 3 HRS
After the blast, the bodies fell on the bamboo structure that the labourers had built. A fire brigade called in to remove the bodies took three hours to do so. With power supply gone, locals protested against the police, alleging that it was late to arrive on the spot. Police had to use mild force to disperse the crowd.
Police said that the owner had forced labourers to work on the spot, even as they (the labourers) had flagged the issue of the wires. The owner had even threatened not to clear the workers’ dues, if they did not finish the construction work at his house.
The eyewitness Ashok added, “There was a loud blast. We rushed out of our homes to see three bodies entangled on the bamboo stand. They were on fire. We informed the police. Some people went to the roof of their houses to throw sand on the bodies to douse the flames.” He alleged that the police and the ambulance arrived late.
The police, however, claimed that residents gathered in large numbers at the site after the incident, hampering and delaying rescue operations. Tibba SHO inspector Dalip Bedi said, “A case under section 304-A (causing death due to negligence) has been registered against the owner of the house. He will be arrested soon.”
CLOSE SHAVE FOR WOMAN, CHILDREN
A woman, Sunita Rani, and her two children, living in a rented accommodation at the house where the incident happened, had a close shave as the wires passed right over their roof. When the victim touched the wire, they were inside the house.
“The house shook, following the blast in the power supply cable. Our ceiling fans and LCD were damaged due to sparking,” the woman said.