NAGAON/GUWAHATI, Sept 21 - Six persons were electrocuted in a pond that had come in contact with an overhead 11kv wire that had snapped early this morning.
The incident took place in Uttar Khatooal village of Juria in Rupohihat constituency. The deceased were identified as Rafiqul Islam, Jabar Ali, Habibur Rahman, Mainul Islam, Ashiful Islam (10) and Inamul Islam.
Locals claimed the high voltage transmission line was dangling dangerously for the last few days, and it snapped last night and fell into a pond belonging to one Syeb Ali.
Villagers claimed that they informed the power department officials at about 5 am. In the meantime, some people jumped into the pond looking for dead fishes. At around 8 am, the line was activated again, due to which six persons were electrocuted in the water body. Eight others were injured and shifted to BP Civil Hospital in Nagaon and the condition of some of them is stated to be critical.
Three officials � SDO Pallab Das, Junior Engineer Dipok Pradhan and line man Fakhrul Islam � were placed under suspension.
Angry villagers attacked the house of one Fakhrul Islam, a lineman of APDCL. His vehicle and furniture were destroyed in the mob attack.
The district administration deployed additional security forces in that area to control the situation.
The 200-km high voltage line runs from the Rupohi sub-station to Singimari.
�In patches, the conductors are thin. The line is in constant touch with bamboo poles and so there are frequent shorts and flashing. This morning the wire snapped and power transmission was snapped automatically. At the time of the incident, test charging was being done, due to which the people in the pond got electrocuted,� a senior APDCL official said.
Power Minister Topon Gogoi, Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta and APDCL Chairman Jishnu Barooah and other senior officials rushed to the spot.
Keshab Mahanta declared ex gratia of Rs 2.5 lakh to each family of dead persons.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered an inquiry into the incident. Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman of APDCL Jishnu Barua has been asked to inquire into the incident, an official release said.
�The inquiry will primarily be encompassing within its ambit the circumstances leading to the electrocution incident. The APDCL Chairman has been asked to submit the report to the government immediately,� the release added.
The Chief Minister, while expressing his condolence over the death of the six people in the incident, prayed for the speedy recovery of those affected in the incident.
