BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court has ruled that an investigation into the alleged negligence of Bescom officers is necessary following a tragic incident at Hope Farm in Kadugodi nine months ago, which resulted in the deaths of a woman and her nine-month-old daughter. The court has refused to quash the criminal proceedings against three Bescom engineers involved in the case.
On November 18, 2023, the two victims were electrocuted after coming into contact with a snapped 11 KV live wire. The complaint was filed by the husband of the deceased, leading to the involvement of Executive Engineer Sreeramu V, Assistant Executive Engineer Subramanya T, and Assistant Engineer Chethan S from the Whitefield Division of Bescom.
The accused had sought to have the proceedings dismissed, citing a clean chit from the Electrical Inspectorate of Bescom. However, Justice M. Nagaprasanna stated, "The life of a citizen who is casually lost cannot be buried, holding no role on the part of the officers of the electricity department." The court emphasized the need for accountability and urged the officers to prevent such negligence in the future.
Additional State Public Prosecutor Jagadeesha B. N. argued that the matter was still under investigation and that the actions of the Bescom officers, including the failure to address a snapped live wire reported via the Bescom helpline, required scrutiny. The court noted that while the Junior Engineer was responsible for responding to the helpline complaint, other officers also had duties related to the maintenance and inspection of the electrical infrastructure.
The court concluded that the role of all involved officers must be examined to determine their responsibility for the negligence. "Merely because other officers from Station operators in the hierarchy have different roles and responsibilities, they being officers of Bescom in the operation and maintenance department, have to undertake periodical checks of wires that are snapped and hanging," the court said.
The investigation will continue to ascertain the full extent of the officers' responsibilities and any potential breaches that led to the fatal incident.
