5 arrested for negligence over Narol couple's death by electrocution on flooded street

A man and his wife were killed by an electric shock while riding a two-wheeler through a rainwater-logged street in Narol’s Mutton Gali on 8 September. Police have arrested five people, including a private contractor and two officials of the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC), after an investigation found serious lapses in street-light maintenance.

According to Narol police, the couple were passing through the flooded stretch on their Activa scooter when they came in contact with a live electric current. Preliminary inquiry revealed that two street-light poles had collapsed and live wires were left exposed, causing the water on the road to become electrified.

PI P C Desai of Narol police station said, “Our investigation shows that the accident occurred because street-light poles had been uprooted and their wires were left open. As a result, the rainwater was carrying electric current when the couple rode through and both died of electrocution.”

Contractor and civic staff booked

Police have registered a case of negligence leading to death and arrested:

* the contractor from Nishant Enterprise, which is responsible for street-light maintenance,

* two employees of the firm, and an assistant engineer and a technician from the AMC street-light department, who were responsible for supervising the work.

Investigators said that Nishant Enterprise failed to carry out proper maintenance of the street-lights, while the two AMC officials did not exercise adequate supervision. The lapse allowed the live wires to remain exposed despite the heavy rain.

“The responsibility for maintenance lay with the contractor, and supervision with AMC staff. Their negligence resulted in the deaths. Hence, we have filed an FIR and taken them into custody,” Desai added.

Police said further inquiry is under way and that civic authorities have been asked to review street-light infrastructure across the city to prevent similar tragedies.