HYDERABAD: An eight-year-old boy was electrocuted when he tried to retrieve a kite, which had a Bahubali film poster imprint on it, from an electric pole. The incident took place at Venkataramana Colony in Chevella on Monday.
The boy, on seeing the entangled kite, climbed up the pole and crawled on the power wires to get hold of the kite.
The boy, identified as Puta Charan, was the younger son of Jangamma, a daily wage worker from Shamshabad. The incident which killed Charan has shattered Jangamma who had lost her husband Bhikshapathi about five years ago and had been struggling to make ends meet ever since.
“Her elder son, aged around 10 years, was mentally unstable. Recently, he went missing. Despite best efforts, we could not trace him. Today, unfortunately, the younger boy also died,” said Charan’s maternal uncle.
Jangamma, whose father passed away last month, and her son arrived in Chevella from Shamshabad four days ago. On Monday, at around 3.30 pm, Charan, who was playing in the open area near his grandmother’s hut, saw a kite entangled in overhead powerlines. The ‘Bahubali’ movie print on the kite attracted him and he climbed the electric pole and crawled over the live wires to get hold of the kite but was electrocuted.
Locals told the police that they heard a loud noise and when they came out of their homes they were shocked to see the burnt body of Charan on the wires.
“The boy used to play in the open area. Today, as nobody was there he climbed the pole. Had anybody seen the boy climb the pole, this unfortunate incident would not have happened. The boy must have got attracted to the kite that has a movie poster print on it,” said Charan’s uncle. On receiving information, Chevella police and electricity department officials rushed to the spot and brought the body down. Chevella police sub-inspector Rajasekhar said, “It was an open place. Generally, kids play there. The boy was playing on the ground when he saw the kite stuck on the wires. He climbed the pole and, in the process, suffered electric shock.” A case of suspicious death was registered.