Jalpaiguri, 14th June: 50-year-old Aarti Das was electrocuted to death while she was plucking flowers for puja, this morning. The incident surfaced from Nawapara of Patkata Gram Panchayat of Jalpaiguri.
According to local sources, power lines in the area snapped after the Monday night’s storm. Allegedly the electricity department was contacted, but no one showed up. When the woman went to pluck flowers for puja this morning, she came in contact with the open wire and was electrocuted. She died on the spot.
Upon receiving the news of the incident, the Electricity Department workers reached the spot and disconnected the power. After the incident, the locals expressed outrage and blamed the department’s negligence for the incident. They alleged that had the workers acted promptly when the matter was initially reported, such an untoward incident would have been avoided.
Fulchand Das, a relative of the deceased, said that the incident happened due to the negligence of the electricity department. A complaint will be lodged against the electricity department, he added.
On the other hand, Electricity department official Dipesh Kumar Nayak said that the employees reached the spot immediately after receiving the news. He stated that the work will be carried out as per the rules. Meanwhile, police recovered the woman’s body and sent it for post-mortem. Police have started an investigation into the entire incident.