CHENNAI: On Wednesday, the Electricity Minister P Thangamani claimed that Sethuraj's death was an accident as a tree branch knocked down the electric pole on him. However, when Express visited the spot where Sethuraj died, there was no tree directly next to the pole. This raises doubts on how a broken branch of the tree could have resulted in the pole collapsing on him.
Moreover, the street where this incident happened is a narrow one and a dead end. Chances of a truck entering the street and ramming against a nearby tree, which was well inside the compound of a house, are very low. Sethu Raj's wife said that when the incident happened on Monday, there was no broken tree branch found next to 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 on the dead end, there was no stay wire fixed to keep it stable," said Lakshmi Krishnakumar, a close family friend.
Residents, locals and family friends of Sethu Raj questioned the truth behind the minister's statement. On Thursday evening, the state government announced a solatium fund of Rs three lakhs as compensation
for the family. But residents and family members said that the compensation amount was too less for a family which has two school-going children."Sethu Raj's wife works as an attender in a school and
both children haven't even completed 10th standard. Even Sethu Raj's income was not sufficient for the family before. As his death was caused by the negligence of the local administration, the government
must allocate more funds to help the family," added Lakshmi.