A 40 year-old daily wage labourer, A Ramulu, who was cleaning a well at the house of a businessman in Hyderabad, reportedly died due to an electric shock.
The incident took place on Tuesday at the residence of businessmen G Anil and Arjun in Banjara Hills.
According to police, Ramulu, who was a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, was first seen unconscious in the water by Arjun's family, who pulled him out and found him dead.
"While the victim's family was alleging that he suffered an electric shock from the exposed motor pump's cable, Arjun's family denied hiring him for work. Ramulu got into the well to pick up some object which he accidentally dropped while cleaning the sewer at the house the day before," Banjara Hills inspector K Srinivas told Times of India.
However, corporator G Vijayalakshmi who visited the spot, said that Ramulu had been working there for nearly four days.
“There are two wells in the house, and the victim had cleaned one. When he moved on to the second well, which had cables passing through for pumping water, he got electrocuted,” she told Deccan Chronicle.
After the incident, Ramulu’s family and friends staged a protest with the body, demanding compensation.
The corporator, who also joined the protests, alleged that the house owners did not switch off the power before sending Ramulu to clean the well, and it was their negligence that led to the death.
After a protest that lasted for a few hours, the police persuaded them to shift the body, and a case was registered based on a complaint lodged by the victim's family.