20220706 Shop on fire, Tangra eatery owner dies of electrocution in bid to escape
India Jul 06 2022 “Building” “Stores”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Shop on fire, Tangra eatery owner dies of electrocution in bid to escape
Updated: 2022-07-06
Kolkata: A 35-year-old road-side eatery owner was electrocuted while trying to escape from his shop in Tangra after a fire broke out on Tuesday.
The fire in the shop reportedly damaged the insulation of electrical wires and the victim Banti Haldar touched the metal shutter that had got electrified by an exposed wire. Haldar, who had been running the eatery for barely a month, was declared dead at NRS Hospital. This is the third electrocution death in the past 10 days.
According to police, Halder was serving kachori to students when his wife Jhuma noticed a fire inside the eatery.
A gas leak from the cylinder led to the fire in the shop. Banti and others from the neighbouring shops tried to douse the flame. But by then, the electrical wire’s plastic insulation got burnt.
“An exposed live wire may have fallen on the steel shutter, electrifying it. Halder probably got electrocuted after he touched it,” said DC (ESD) Priyobrata Roy.
Jhuma blamed the local market committee and the power utility for the mishap. She said that she had noticed sparks from the box fixed on the lamp post for the past several days.
“There were similar sparks on Tuesday. It led to a fire inside the shop. While I managed to flee, my husband got electrocuted when he accidentally touched the shutter while moving out of the shop. There was no gas leakage,” she said. CESC refuted the allegations, claiming that the box contained a timer for the streetlights, which were turned off during the day. An official said there was no evidence of sparks that would have scalded the box and left burn marks.
“The series of shops there had a common meter, situated around 50 metre from the shop where the fire occurred on Tuesday. The wire had passed through a section where it was in contact with the metal frame of the shutter. When the fire burnt the insulation and exposed the naked wire, it came in contact with the shutter and electrified it,” said CESC executive director (distribution) Avijit Ghosh.
Roy said the reason behind the electrocution of Haldar will be investigated. “We are aware of the allegations of the victim’s family. We are waiting for the report from the fire department and we have requisitioned the forensic experts to the spot. We will go by their reports and proceed according to their findings,” said Roy.
Web Source: The Times of India