Varanasi: A lineman and a wrestler lost their lives due to electrocution in two separate incidents in the past 48 hours.In the first incident, a 40-year-old contractual lineman, identified as Bharat Lal Rajbhar, a resident of Bhaironath Harpur, died of electrocution late Saturday while repairing a faulty pole near Pandey Ghat.He was rushed to the BHU Trauma Centre in a severely burnt condition, where doctors declared him dead.His family alleged negligence on the part of power department employees. They said the electricity supply was turned on at the spot where Bharat was working, and he was not informed about it.The family refused to cremate the body after the post-mortem and took it to the Bhelupur powerhouse in the Kamachha area. They placed the body there and staged a protest, demanding a job and compensation for the deceased’s family. They also demanded strict action against the negligent employees responsible for Bharat’s death.After a two-hour protest, the superintending engineer suspended JE Nitesh Kumar of Bhadaini and ordered a probe into the incident. In addition, Rs 10 lakh was transferred to the account of a family member of the deceased.The body was later taken to Rajatalab for cremation.In another incident, a 25-year-old wrestler died after coming in contact with a live electric wire at his akhara on Friday afternoon. He was immediately taken to the Divisional Hospital in the Kabirchaura area, where doctors declared him dead.According to police, the man sustained severe burns after coming into contact with the wire.ACP (Dashashwamedh) Atul Anjan Tripathi said the body was sent for post-mortem and the family declined to lodge an FIR. He added that after completing legal formalities, the body was handed over to the family.
