CHENNAI: Residents of Chitlapakkam and family friends of electrocution victim Sethuraj have questioned Electricity Minister P Thangamani’s claim on Wednesday that the death was an accident caused by a tree branch that knocked down the electric pole.
When Express visited the spot, there was no tree found directly near the pole. There was a tree inside the compound of a neighbouring house, but the wall was intact and had no signs of a truck ramming it. This has raised doubts how a broken tree branch could have resulted in the pole collapsing on Sethuraj.
Moreover, the street where this incident happened is a narrow dead-end. Hence, chances of a truck entering the street and ramming against the tree are low. Sethuraj’s wife has said that when the incident happened on Monday, there was no broken tree branch found near her husband’s body.
“When we saw the fallen pole, the rod inside the cement covering was fully rusted. Also, as the pole was the last one in the dead-end, no stray wire was fixed to keep it stable,” said Lakshmi Krishnakumar, a close family friend. As for the solatium of `3 lakh announced, the residents have termed it as insufficient. “Sethu Raj’s wife works as an attender in a school and her two children haven’t even completed 10th standard,” added Lakshmi.