One electrocuted, another worker dies in rescue bid

Gurgaon: Two women labourers working at an under-construction house in Bilaspur’s Bhora Kalan village were electrocuted after they came in contact with a low-lying, high-tension (HT) power line on Thursday.
Police said the women have been identified as Sandhya Devi (24) and Sandhya Rani (34). Both were from Madhya Pradesh and had migrated to Gurgaon with their families several years ago. They had been staying in rented accommodations in Bhora Kalan for the past four years and worked as daily wagers at construction sites.
On Thursday, the women were working on the roof of a two-storey house under construction. They were unaware that a low-hanging HT wire near the roof was live.
While carrying construction material, one of them came in contact with the wire and was electrocuted. The other tried to pull her away from it. Due to the high voltage, both died on the spot.
Other labourers at the site noticed them and raised the alarm. The women were removed from the wire only after the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) received calls from nearby residents and disconnected power supply.
Bharat Singh, the husband of one of the victims, said he works at the same construction site and they had asked the house owner several times to remove the low-hanging electricity wires from the roof. Singh was plastering the outer wall of the building while his wife was carrying construction material when the incident happened.
“Due to the recent rains, the floor and construction material were wet. My wife and her co-worker came in contact with the wire and were electrocuted,” said Singh. He added that locals took them to hospital, but doctors declared them dead.
Based on his complaint, an FIR has been registered against the house owner for negligence under Section 304A (death in accident) of the IPC at Bilaspur police station. Police said no arrests have been made so far.
A villager said the high-tension wire is passing over around 15 houses in the village, posing a threat to the life of residents. “We have raised the issue with several authorities, including DHBVN, civic bodies and even local politicians, but nothing has been done till date. Now, it has taken the lives of two persons,” he said.
Inspector Naveen Kumar, station house officer (SHO) of Bilaspur police station, said they are recording statements of the people present at the time of incident, as well as villagers. “We have also written to DHBVN to relocate the wires to avoid such an incident,” said SHO.