Bescom repair van arrived 20 seconds after woman, child were burnt alive in Kadugodi

BENGALURU: Shocking visuals from the Kadugodi electrocution incident of November19, where a woman and her nine-month-old child were burnt to death, shows that a Bescom team arrived just 20 seconds later, even as the woman and her child lay burning on the footpath.

Two hours earlier, another man had a providential escape after the 11 kv power line snapped, fell on the footpath and fire emerged even as he was just a few feet away. On spotting the fire, the man ran back to safety.

A pedestrian retreated after a fire in the 11 kv power line which had fallen on the footpath.

Footage from a CCTV camera shows the 11 kv power line snapped at 3.41 am last Sunday (November 19). A man crosses the road and steps on to the footpath when fire breaks out from the snapped power line. The man can be seen hastily retreating. Some others also see the fire, but no one seems to have alerted the authorities. Perhaps the two lives could have been saved if the Bescom officials were alerted earlier itself.

Two hours later, at 5.42.10 am, Soundarya, carrying her child Suviksha, is seen walking on the footpath while her husband is walking by the side of the road. The woman trips on coming in contact with the live wire and she and her child are instantenously on flames. The husband Santosh Kumar realises the wife and child are on fire, but cannot do anything to save them. He can be seen waving his hands for help.

The Kadugodi electrocution victims Soundarya and Suviksha.

A Bescom repair team arrives at the spot 20 seconds later at 5,42.30 am, but there is little they can do. Two men can be seen getting off the van and going near the spot by turns, but there is little they can do as the woman and her child are engulfed in flames.

Following the tragedy, Bescom is now planning to create awareness about the role of citizens to reduce electrical accidents. The power utility has also launched a new helpline for the purpose.

In case of snapped power cables, fires or dangerous spots, citizens can call the Bescom helpline 1912 or 9449844708. Bescom officials have also been tasked with identifying dangerous spots across the city and clearing them.