A farewell party turns into dark day of loss, family blames power company

“Suddenly, people started screaming, saying Deepak has been electrocuted. We rushed him to the GTB hospital where the doctor declared him brought dead,” says Sharma.

[related-post]

While he claims Deepak was standing in the balcony and was electrocuted by the pole, the police and the power company, BYPL, have a different version. “Deepak was preparing for the party at the home and was electrocuted,” said a police officer.

A BYPL spokesperson said, “Preliminary investigations indicate that while hanging decorative lights on the roof of his house, the deceased had accidentally touched the live part of the pole mounted transformer through the decorative wire. It has been found that the balcony of the house had come dangerously close to the pole and the electric cable due to illegal construction. We have been regularly educating consumers about the need to maintain an adequate and safe distance from electrical installations”.

Deepak’s family members have accused the police of trying to downplay the incident. “The party was supposed to held on June 30 in a banquet hall, not in my home. Police has falsified our statements and are trying to downplay (the fact) that it is a mistake by the electricity department,” says Ram Sharma.

He claims that the pole has been a source of problems for the residents for years. He claimed that 15 days ago, his son had complained to the power company once again.

Sharma’s neighbour Rishipal, who has been staying in the colony for the last six years, says that minor flames have been spotted in the high-tension wires attached to the pole. “We have repeatedly lodged complaints, but there has been no permanent solution,” he says.
But BJP ward councillor Deepti Joshi doesn’t put the entire onus on the power company; the house should have been built some distance away from the pole, she says.

“This is a very sad incident, but to say that the spark in the pole killed someone is not correct. There may be some electric fault in the house which took the life of Deepak,” she says. She, however, pointed out, “There are low hanging wires in some part of the area and the company needs to look into the matter very seriously.”