CHENNAI: A day after a teenage boy was electrocuted to death by an electric cable left exposed by Corporation workers, a 42-year-old man was killed in a similar fashion on Monday night after a dilapidated electric pole came crashing down.
The deceased, identified as Sethuraj of Kalyanasundaram Nagar in Chitlapakkam, was a mini-van driver. “Every night, Sethuraj used to feed the stray dogs in his locality. On Monday, when he was feeding the dogs, the pole crumbled and the live wires supported by it fell on Sethuraj,” said a police officer.
He was electrocuted and flung away from the spot by the shock. His wife and neighbours rushed him to a nearby private hospital, but was declared brought dead.
The electric pole in the area, made of cement, has been lying damaged for a long time now, according to local residents.
“We have filed several complaints with officials about the dilapidated electric pole till date. However, no action was taken,” said the residents. They engaged in an argument with the police over ‘official apathy’ on the matter, following Sethuraj’s death. The body of the deceased has been sent to Chromepet GH and a case has been registered. Sethuraj is survived by wife and two children.
108 ambulance staff sacked after Sethuraj death
Hours after the death of Sethuraj, a 108 ambulance staff member was terminated from service for allegedly refusing to take the victim to the nearest private hospital. Soon after the incident happened, an audio clip, purportedly a conversation between the victim’s family and a 108 ambulance staff member, went viral on WhatsApp.
One of Sethuraj’s relative is heard appealing in the clip to the staff member to take them to a nearby private hospital. However, the request seems to have been turned down by the staff, who insisted that they are allowed only to take them to a government facility, and that the family had to make their own arrangements if they wanted to go to a private hospital. Sethuraj was declared brought dead in hospital.
Though the veracity of the audio clip could not be independently verified by Express, health minister C Vijayabaskar assured that he would review the functioning of the ambulance service. Addressing reporters at the Government Dental College on Tuesday, he claimed the 108 ambulance system in Tamil Nadu was among the best in India.
“I will definitely review the functioning of the service based on these allegations,” he said. The minister added that the response time of ambulances to emergencies has been improved significantly from 11.05 minutes to 8.36 minutes.
SHRC notice in Deena death
Meanwhile, the State Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner and to the Chairman and Managing Director of Tangedco to conduct a detailed inquiry into the electrocution of a 14- year-old boy, Deena on Sunday. Deena suffered an electric shock when he stepped into a puddle of water, allegedly because the Corporation workers had left a cable exposed.
Taking suo motu cognisance of the news reports, the Commission, presided over by D Jayachandran, raised questions on why the dug-up road was not relaid properly by officials of Greater Chennai Corporation and Tangedco. “Will this not amount to negligence in violation of human rights of the general public? Was any action was taken against Corporation officials who were responsible for the incident. Have any steps been taken by Tangedco to assist the family of the deceased,” the Commission asked.