A schoolteacher was electrocuted on Friday morning while he was preparing a flagpole to hoist the Tricolour on the occasion of Independence Day, in Haroa, North 24-Parganas.

The incident occurred at Mallickpore around 7am when one end of the iron flagpole inadvertently touched a high-tension electric cable.

Manwar Hossain, 62, a resident of Jhikra village in Bakjuri gram panchayat under the jurisdiction of Haroa police, died instantly.

According to sources, Hossain, a teacher at a private institution, was making preparations for the morning ceremony when the pole came in contact with the overhead high-voltage line. Villagers who witnessed the incident took him to Haroa Rural Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

Police later sent his body to Basirhat Police District Hospital for an autopsy.

The sudden death cast a pall of gloom over the locality. Residents described Hossain as a man deeply committed to patriotic celebrations at the school. “He planned to celebrate the event today in a big way,” a villager said.

His brother, Arabul Islam, said the teacher had gone out at 6am to install the flagpole to hoist the flag in front of the school for the pupils.

In another incident at Basanti in South 24-Parganas, a 23-year-old nursing student suffered critical injuries after she was allegedly attacked with a sharp weapon by a civic police volunteer in Amjhara, Basanti, as she had purportedly refused her marriage proposal.

The accused, Biswajit Khan, later consumed poison in an apparent suicide attempt. Both were rushed to Canning Hospital in critical condition.