30-year-old man waiting for bus at Hebbal electrocuted

In yet another incident of electrocution, a man in his 30s lost his life after coming in contact with a live electricity wire at the Hebbal bus stop in northern Bengaluru, officials said.

The incident took place around 9.40 pm on Saturday and police are yet to identify the victim.

“We are investigating the case and are yet to identify the victim. The first impression is that Bescom might be at fault. We are yet to get more details,” a police officer said. The body was shifted to the Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College Hospital for post-mortem.

The man was said to be waiting for a bus. It was raining, and he sat on one of the iron waiting chairs. Three more people also sat there but they went away after getting an electric shock.

A few minutes later, the man took off his slippers. As he tried to wear them again, he touched the metal part of the bus shelter and got electrocuted, an official said.

Bescom officials who visited the spot insisted they were not at fault.

H D Chennakeshava, an executive engineer in Bescom’s Hebbal division, said a private advertising company (Times Innovative Media) had illegally drawn an electric connection from a nearby pole to illuminate an advertisement panel placed on the bus stop.

“Our initial inspection shows that the wire was not insulated properly and the advertisement box was in touch with the wire. The deceased may have been electrocuted after touching that box,” he added.

According to Bescom officials, they had disconnected the power supply to the particular advertisement panel way back in December 2020 as the firm failed to pay the outstanding bill. The firm later illegally drew power to the advertisement hoarding through the electricity pole.

Earlier, we had disconnected a similar connection in December 2020. But now, they have again taken a connection illegally. Our vigilance team will file a criminal case against them,” a senior Bescom official said.

Bescom has alerted the Department of Electrical Inspectorate, which will also investigate the incident, the official said.