Live wire touches gate, TN couple electrocuted

CHENNAI:  An elderly couple died of electrocution on Saturday night after a loose wire from a light installed atop their apartment’s main metal gate on Rathinammal Street in Kodambakkam triggered an electric shock. Since no CCTV footage was available, it could not be conclusively established as to who touched the gate first, police sources said. 

The couple, S Murthy (80), a retired income tax department employee, and M Banu alias Banumathi (76), a former forensic sciences department staff, were living alone as they did not have children.

The Ashok Nagar police said around 11pm on Saturday, they received a call from the couple’s neighbour saying that an elderly couple living opposite their house could have been electrocuted. Based on the complaint, police rushed to the spot and found Murthy and Banumathi dead near the gate. Power supply to the area was disconnected and the bodies were sent to Omandurar government hospital for postmortem.

“Since there were no CCTVs near the spot, we couldn’t find out who touched the gate first. Both bodies had entry and exit wounds,” a police officer told TNIE. Police said a loose wire from the light attached to the metal gate may have come in contact with the gate and electric current must have been flowing through the gate. When one of them got electrocuted, the other person must have rushed to their aid and gotten hit by the shock.  

A police officer said, “As the couple did not have children, we are waiting for their relatives from abroad to arrive to hand over the bodies and start other procedures.”