On-duty Bescom lineman dies of electrocution

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A lineman with the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company died allegedly of electrocution while carrying out repair works on a transformer in Gopalpura of Magadi Road here on Monday. The deceased has been identified as Gautham, 32. According to sources, a fire was noticed in the transformer around 9 am and the Bescom was alerted, following which a team including Gautham reached the spot.

They were attending to the issue when Gautham is said to have come in contact with a life wire. Jurisdictional police said that some passers-by rushed him to a hospital in a critical state, where he breathed his last. Gautham’s father Rangaswamy filed a complaint against Bescom engineers, alleging negligence on their part.

Sources close to the family of the deceased said that Gautham was to be married soon, though the date was not finalised. The grieving family alleged that despite the presence of Bescom engineers at the spot, precautionary measures were not taken during the repair works.

The family gathered outside the hospital before the postmortem was conducted. Rangaswamy claimed: “My son was on night shift but had to work even at 9 am. He lost his life because of the negligence of the Bescom engineers.”