B'luru woman electrocuted: Bescom suspends five officials, sends show-cause notices to 2 seniors

Bengaluru: Hours after a 23-year-old woman and her nine-month-old daughter were electrocuted in Whitefield on Sunday, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (Bescom) suspended five of its officials for dereliction of duty following a prima facie inquiry and issued show-cause notices to two of its senior officers. 

"Following the directions of the Energy Minister, the General Manager of Admin and Human Resources of Bescom has suspended Assistant Executive Engineer of E-4 Sub-Division, Subramanya T; Assistant Engineer of E-4 Sub-Division, Chetan S; Junior Engineer of E-4 Su-Division Rajanna; junior powerman Manjunath Revanna and Lineman Basavaraju for dereliction of duties and detailed investigation will be conducted in the matter,” the corporation said in a statement. 

"Bescom has also issued a show-cause notice to Superintendent Engineer of East Circle Lokesh Babu and Executive Engineer of Whitefield division Sriramu, asking them to reply to the notice within three days.” 

At around 6 am, Soundharya, who was walking with her husband Santhosh on the footpath near Hope Farm holding the infant, Suviksha, in her arms, stepped on a live electric wire. She and the child were electrocuted, the police said. 

Bescom said that in a “non-department fatal electrical accident”, the mother-daughter duo “came in contact with a live 11KV wire fallen on the footpath of Hope Farm Signal and got electrocuted”. 

“F-9 of BPL feeder of Kadugodi was tripped at 3.50 am and same has been charged at 3.55 am. Victims came in contact with the 11KV snapped conductor on the footpath near Hope Farm Signal and got electrocuted. Whitefield police have registered the case. The Energy Minister has taken this incident very seriously and cautioned all engineers of Escoms not to allow such incidents to happen in future.”