Kite-flying boy comes in contact with live wire, succumbs to burns

A 13-year-old boy who had sustained burns after he came in contact with a high-tension wire while flying kite, died during the course of treatment on Wednesday.

The deceased is Mohammed Abubakar Khan, a resident of Dasappa Garden in HMT Layout in North Bengaluru.

The incident took place around 2 pm on Monday (June 16). Abubakar and his friend were flying a kite in Vishweshwaraiah Park on 6th ‘B’ cross Road, HMT Layout.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the kite Abubakar and his friend were flying fell on a high-tension wire that was about one and a half feet away from a residential building adjacent to the park. Abubakar climbed the building with the help of the park’s mesh fence. He reached the first floor of the building and tried to pull the kite.

He came in contact with the high-tension wire and suffered electric shocks. Drawn by his friend’s screams, locals rushed and shifted Abubakar to a private hospital and from there he was shifted to the Burns Ward at Victoria hospital.

Abubakar sustained about 80% burns and died around 1.30 am on Wednesday. Abubakar’s friend told local people he was trying to pull the kite with the help of a small stick, while a few others said he was trying to do so by his hand.

Abubakar, a class 7 student at a government school, was the youngest of the three sons of Sultana, a domestic help.

Based on Sultana’s complaint, RT Nagar police have taken up a case of negligence causing the death under the IPC section 304 A against KPTCL, Bescom and BBMP officials.

A few residents allege that this is the fourth live wire accident in the area and officials concerned were not acting. KPTCL officials, who visited the spot, told police that the high-tension wire was drawn through the area way back in 1969 when there were hardly any houses in the locality. The park also came up recently. Increasing the height and taking other safety measures is a lengthy process, they claimed. A few residents demanded a security guard for the park to prevent children from climbing adjacent buildings.