A seven-year-old boy was found lying dead near a meter box, a water pump and a bunch of live wires under the staircase of a building in Patuli on Monday morning.
A youth in the locality spotted Krishnendu Das, a Class II student, lying on his stomach with his face turned sideways.
Police suspect the child, whose family stays in the building on rent, was electrocuted when he was trying to take out his cycle that had come in contact with one or more live wires.
“He was lying on the floor motionless. A fluid was oozing out of his nose. There was a dark brown mark on his body. We immediately shifted him home and called a doctor. The doctor said he had been electrocuted and the brown mark was a burn injury. He was long dead,” said Joy Sarkar, 16, a neighbour.
Krishnendu, Bhola to near and dear ones, was taken to MR Bangur Hospital, where he was declared dead. The post-mortem will be conducted on Tuesday.
Officers of Patuli police station reached the spot and found at least three bicycles under the staircase, all entangled with wires.
Some of the wires were connected to the meter box and some to electric sockets without a plug. A wire connected the water pump to a plug-less socket.
Cops and CESC officials failed to identify which wire had caused the electrocution.
Krishnendu’s father Prasanta, who drives an auto, left home as usual around 7.30am. Mother Tapasi cooks in two houses.
Tapasi left home early in the morning to cook in one of the houses and returned around 8.15am to wake the child up and feed him. She left home again a while later to cook in the other house.
“She usually returns from the second house around 10.30am and readies the child for school. She used to accompany her son to school,” said a neighbour.
Krishnendu, who neighbours said was a quiet child, would remain alone at home between 8.30am and 10.30am.
The police said the two-storey building had only one electric meter to serve three tenant families. The owner lives elsewhere.
Krishnendu’s father lodged a police complaint against the landlord, based on which a case of causing death due to negligence was registered on Monday evening.
