Protesters outside the CESU office at Unit-I in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 6: Friends and relatives of a man who was electrocuted last night carried his body to the office of the junior manager (electrical) section III and staged a protest there.

Chandra Sekhar Sahu was electrocuted in front of his house in Unit I.

Around 50 agitators demanded compensation and a job for the wife of the deceased. Sahu died after coming in contact with a live electric wire that had fallen near his house.

He was rushed to Capital Hospital but died soon after. Sahu was working as a section officer in the school and mass education department.

Family members of Sahu said he returned home around 8pm yesterday. “It was raining heavily. He went out to close the gate. Suddenly, I heard him screaming. He had come in contact with a live wire,” said Mamata Sahu, his wife.

She alleged that a 440-volt wire had been hanging dangerously over the compound of their house and electricity officials had done nothing about it in spite of complaints. “They did not respond to our complaints. We even complained about it on the day of Ganesh puja on September 1, when the branch of a nearby tree fell on the wire. The officials did not respond,” said Jitendra Sahu, a relative of the deceased.

The neighbours alleged that all the electric wires in the locality were hanging dangerously. At certain places, the branches of trees were getting entangled in the wires. “We have been complaining about this matter for the last six months, but the electricity officials have not paid any heed to our complaints,” alleged Firoj Khan, a local resident.

This morning, friends and relatives of Sahu protested in front of the nearby electricity office demanding action against the junior engineer and sub-divisional officer and accusing them of negligence. They also demanded compensation and a job for Sahu’s wife.

Their protest continued for more than three hours. Scared, the officials of the electricity department remained confined to their office. Cops from the Capital police station intervened but the agitation continued.

However, following police intervention, the director-cum-general manager (electrical) of Central Electric Supply Utility, G.K. Chakrabarty, met the agitators and assured them of an inquiry into the incident. “An inquiry will be conducted and anyone found guilty will face action,” said Chakrabarty. The protest was called off after he paid Rs 5,000 to the family of the deceased for performing the last rites.