Youth sustains severe burns while repairing transformer

An 18-year-old contract employee sustained severe burns on his right hand after he came in contact with a live electric wire while repairing a snapped transformer in Vibhudi Nagar, HAL, on Wednesday.

The victim, Shiva Raja, worked as a contract employee with Sankesh, Bescom contractor, over the past six months, the police said. Raja, a native of Sira, is recovering at a private hospital.

Raja told the police that he along with his associates were taken to Vibhudi Nagar to repair a transformer that caught fire during the rain, disrupting power supply to the area. “I was secured to the electric pole and was repairing the transformer when suddenly I left an electric shock. My right hand got burnt and my colleagues rushed to help me,” Raja told DH.

He was rushed to HAL Hospital, from where he was shifted to Victoria Hospital and then later to St John’s Hospital, before getting admitted to a private hospital in Peenya.

According to the police, Bescom supervisor Gagan had not provided any safety gear to Raja. Based on a complaint, the police have taken up a case against Gagan and Sankesh and charged them under IPC Section 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others).