A lineman with the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) died on Monday morning, January 23 while conducting repairs on a transformer. The 26-year-old lineman, Gautham, had been working with BESCOM for six years and was on night shift when the incident occurred.
According to reports, Gautham and his colleague were responding to a power outage caused by issues with the transformer. When they arrived at the scene, Gautham climbed a pole to repair the damaged line after shutting off power on the line. However, he came into contact with another live wire that had not been shut off and was electrocuted. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Gautham's family has filed a complaint with the Magadi Road police, accusing BESCOM authorities of negligence. They claim that no safety measures were taken and that Gautham was not provided with proper safety gear. According to The Hindu, BESCOM officials denied these allegations and stated that Gautham died after accidentally suffering an electric shock from a transformer while conducting repairs without performing earthing procedures. A case has been registered under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code for causing death due to negligence against BESCOM officials.