Shaheen Bagh high-tension cable incident: second labourer dies

A 22-year-old migrant labourer who was reported to be in a critical condition after he came into contact with a 220 kV power line in south-east Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area yesterday has succumbed to his injuries at a hospital, police said today.
Irshad, a native of West Bengal, passed away around 11.30 PM yesterday, they said.
The incident had taken place 3.30 PM when Bhura and Intihar, both migrant labourers, were fitting tiles at the first floor of the under-construction building over which the high tension wire passed by, a senior police official said.
They were cautious throughout but while operating on a tiles-cutter machine, they accidentally came within the range of the 220 kV cable and were pulled by its force.

They came into contact with the wire, following which Bhura died on spot and Irshad was rushed to hospital in critical condition.
The police have registered a case of criminal negligence at Jamia Nagar Police Station in connection with the incident but identity of the builder, who is likely to face arrest, is yet to be ascertained.

Police are also in the process of issuing notices to Delhi Transco Limited, entrusted with power transmission in the area, and civic bodies, with the land under their jurisdiction allegedly encroached upon by locals, a senior police official said.
A senior Delhi Transco Limited official said that the 220 kV power line was installed as per law but people encroached upon land below the lines, which demand a minimum distance of 17.50 metres to be spared on both sides.

"The very fact that two labourers were working in a balcony almost below the power line reflects utter violation of regulation. The matter has been taken up with civic bodies several times," the transco official added.
Yesterday's incident initially appeared like an explosion and locals raised an alarm about a cylinder blast. They later spotted two men stuck to the high tension wire and called up police. A rescue operation could be initiated only after electricity supply in the entire locality was discontinued, which took around another 15 minutes, a police official said.
He further said, a 45-year-old woman was electrocuted in the same area under similar circumstances around six months ago. The woman was hanging washed clothes at her balcony, extremely close to a high tension wire, and was pulled by its force. She died within minutes.