CHENNAI: A 51-year-old farmer died of electrocution near Mamallapuram on Sunday evening after climbing the transformer to restore power to his village which had been without electricity since the previous night.
The deceased was identified as Veeraraghavan, 51, a resident of Bangarupettai Colony under Vadakkuampadi panchayat in Chengalpattu district.
Police said the village had been without power since Saturday night, disrupting irrigation as farmers were unable to run their electric pumps. Despite repeated complaints to the Athur Electricity Board office, officials allegedly did not attend to the fault.
Frustrated by the delay, Veeraraghavan who had basic knowledge of electrical repair allegedly decided to fix the transformer himself, along the Mamallapuram-Tirukazhukundram Road. Believing the power had been switched off, he climbed the transformer, but came into contact with a live wire and was electrocuted.
Passersby alerted the Electricity Board and Fire and Rescue Services. After the power supply was disconnected, firefighters retrieved the body. Mamallapuram police sent it to Chengalpattu Government General Hospital for postmortem, before handing it over to the family on Monday.
A case has been registered, and investigation is under way.