GADAG: Three died and three others were injured after the metal cutout they were holding came in contact with a livewire in the Gadag district on Sunday night. The poster was being put up for the birthday of actor Yash.
The deceased have been identified as Hanumant Harijan, 21, Murali Naduvinamani, 20, and Naveen Gaji, 19, from Suranagi. Manjunath Harijan, Prakash Myageri and Deepak Harijan, who suffered burns, are under treatment.
According to sources, 10 youngsters planned to celebrate Yash’s birthday, which was on January 8 and got the cutout done. When some of them lifted the cutout, it touched the live wires. Three of them died on the spot.
Villagers rushed to the spot and helped the youths to shift to the taluk hospital of Lakshmeshwar town on Sunday around 11 pm. Suranagi is 13 km from Lakshmeshwar town and the villagers took a vehicle from the village and shifted to Taluk hospital.
The dead bodies were brought to the Suranagi village on Monday morning and they performed funerals at the village around 10.30 am.
Meanwhile, Yash visited the houses of Murali, Naveen and Hanumant on Monday evening and consoled the members of their families.
Addressing reporters, he said, “I always request my fans to be responsible and not to indulge in such acts. We will be happy if they support us by extending their wishes.”
Asked if compensation will be given to the families of the deceased, Yash said, “This is not the right time to discuss such matters. He will get details of the families of the deceased and act accordingly.
Gadag district minister H K Patil spoke in Bengaluru that he would speak with CM Siddaramaiah about giving compensation to deceased family members. Shirahatti MLA Dr Chandru Lamani visited the Suranagi village and promised the family of the deceased to talk about the compensation.
Lakshmeshwar Taluk Hospital medical officers said that all three are responding to treatment two have almost recovered and one is still recovering.
Suresh Shiraasangi, a villager from Suranagi said, “They used to erect cutouts in different areas earlier but some youths planned to change the cutout area and they came to this area and tried to erect the metal cutout and the incident happened. When the live wire came in contact with the metal, two youths died on the spot and one youth suffered for a few seconds and died. The other youths started screaming after watching this incident and villagers came outside to see what happened. When villagers saw three people screaming in pain, they did not wait for the ambulance but took a vehicle which was available at the time and shifted them to Lakshmeshwar town. Some villagers told them to be careful before putting up the banner but the young people were in a festive mood and they were whistling in happiness. Sadly, it lasted for one minute and they were electrocuted".
(With inputs from PTI)