A faulty power connection to a police outpost in Washermenpet is thought to have cost a 12-year-old boy his life on Tuesday evening, after he touched an iron structure at the entrance of the police booth, resulting in electrocution. A police constable who tried to rescue the boy also suffered an electric shock and has been admitted to hospital.
Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) officials said the electricity connection at the outpost was illegal.
Washermenpet police said the incident took place around 7.45 p.m. on East Cemetery Road, where the victim, Vasanth, a class VII student who resides nearby, was playing with his friends. According to the boy’s neighbour Rajesh, an autorickshaw driver, a police constable stationed at the outpost had called the boy and asked him to get a cup of tea. “The boy came running after buying the tea for the constable, and when he touched the entrance, he received an electric shock and was flung to the ground. The constable tried to rescue him but he was knocked down as well by the power,” Rajesh recalled.
Onlookers and residents of the locality rushed Vasanth and the constable, later indentified as Balakrishnan attached to the Washermenpet police station, to the Government Stanley Hospital. But Vasanth succumbed on the way while Balakrishnan survived as he was wearing shoes at the time of the incident. He was admitted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment, police added.
Washermenpet police registered a case of unnatural death caused due to an electric shock.
Residents claimed that power supply at the police outpost was being taken from an adjacent electric post. “The connection was faulty due to which current passed through the entire iron structure, ” said a resident.
Sources with the TANGEDCO said that police booths often didn’t apply for permission for power connections, but were helped by locals with the supply. A source said they were unaware of whether the power supply was illegally drawn in this case. Only an investigation could establish that, the source added.
The boy’s family, relatives and residents of the area staged a road roko on Wednesday, demanding action against the police and TANGEDCO officials . They dispersed after senior officials arrived there and assured them that action would be taken.
