A 13-year-old boy died after suffering an electric shock from a snapped stay wire connected to an electricity pole in a paddy field near his home in Kerala's Malappuram district on Sunday, police told news agency Press Trust of India.The incident prompted protests by residents, who accused Kerala State Electricity Board officials of negligence. The boy's friends tried to rescue him, but a tractor driver stopped them from approaching the wire and prevented them from suffering a similar fate.Police identified the boy as Junaid, son of Shihabudheen, a resident of Cherumukku in Tirurangadi.
Junaid had gone to the paddy field with his friends to watch a tractor ploughing the land during the holiday.Junaid came into contact with the broken stay wire lying on the ground. The wire was reportedly touching an overhead power line, causing the fatal electric shock, police told Press Trust of India.
Residents told reporters that several stay wires in the area had remained damaged and unsafe for years. They also alleged that electricity lines in the locality were hanging at dangerously low heights.According to residents, farmers and people who go fishing frequently visit the paddy field, both during and outside the cultivation season.
They also alleged that KSEB officials took time to disconnect the power supply despite repeated calls for assistance. Police said Junaid's body was shifted to the mortuary at Tirurangadi taluk hospital.The boy's death from the damaged wire and the alleged delay in disconnecting the power supply led residents to protest and accuse KSEB officials of serious negligence.- Ends