An eight-year-old girl was electrocuted when she stepped on a live electric cable lying on the ground near her school in Gangondanahalli near Mysore Road here on Tuesday morning. Her schoolteacher's presence of mind prevented other students meeting the same fate.
The victim, R. Sunitha, also known as Yellamma, was on her way to the school at 8.35 a.m. when she accidentally stepped on the cable lying on the playground adjacent to the Government Primary School.
The Class III student was taken to a nursing home near BMTC bus depot in Chandra Layout where the doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Presence of mind
The schoolteacher, who witnessed the tragedy, rushed to the spot when Sunitha started screaming. Seeing the other children go towards the cable, she stopped them. “Local residents, autorickshaw drivers and a plastic buckets seller rushed to Sunitha's rescue and took her in an autorickshaw to the hospital,” said the teacher, who did not want to be named.
Sunitha, a bright girl who loved extracurricular activities, lived with her mother, Renuka, near Gangondanahalli. The Chandra Layout police said her father, Hanumanthappa, a migrant labour from Thalikyapura village in Deodurga taluk of Raichur, deserted his family a few years ago, forcing Ms. Renuka to work as a domestic help in several houses in the vicinity.
“I did not want her also to become a maid. I wanted a good life for her,” wept an inconsolable Ms. Renuka.
The school has two gates. The power cable, which had snapped, was lying on the ground near one of the gates.
Negligence case
Meanwhile, the Chandra Layout police have registered a case of negligence against the lineman and other officials of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (Bescom).
Soon after the tragedy, local residents gathered at the spot and demanded stringent action against those responsible.
Some of the teachers said they had complained to Bescom and local Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike officials about the sagging electric cables.
