BENGALURU: Conrad Bengaluru management has been booked for causing death by negligence after two foreign nationals died in a suspected electrocution incident at the five-star hotel’s swimming pool on Friday evening.The FIR was registered early Saturday on a complaint by the wife of one of the deceased.The deceased were identified as Alexander Maximilian Theiss (57), a German national and Lufthansa crew member, and Juraj Horvat (45), a Slovak national who worked as a project manager with IBM. Both had checked into the hotel earlier on Friday.According to preliminary accounts, Horvat was entering the pool on the hotel’s third floor when he screamed and began writhing. Theiss, who was swimming nearby, rushed to help him and was also reportedly electrocuted. An American tourist, Mathew Desantis (41), and pool attendant Rahul Tiwari (28) were injured while trying to rescue the two men.All four were taken to Manipal Hospital. Theiss was brought dead, while Horvat could not be revived. Dr Mabel Vasnaik, head of emergency medicine at the hospital, said the cause of death was electrocution. The injured duo were reported to be out of danger.Based on a complaint by Horvat’s wife, Silvia Hotuatova, police booked the hotel management under Section 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing death by negligence. The provision carries a maximum punishment of five years’ imprisonment and a fine.Police received information about the incident only around 11.10pm, when the hospital sent a medico-legal case memo, a senior police officer said.“The hotel staff committed a grave mistake by not informing police immediately. Also, there was pressure from a few politicians and others to not to share details with the media,” the officer added.An FIR was registered around 4.30am on Saturday. Sources said hotel employees disconnected the power supply to the pool after the incident, suspecting an electrical fault.Investigators are examining electrical installations around the pool, including LED lights fitted along the railings and inside the water.Bengaluru police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said it appeared to be a suspected case of electric leakage, but the exact cause would be established only after detailed medical and technical reports.Conrad Bengaluru, a 24-storeyed luxury hotel built by the Prestige Group and operated by Hilton, said its management was cooperating with investigators.
