Culpable homicide case against five MSEDCL officials

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In a heart-wrenching incident, Kachru Janardan Dahihande (50) and his nephew Kiran alias Balu Jagannath Dahihande (30) lost their lives in a field after coming into contact with live electric wires. The tragedy occurred on Monday evening in the Chikalthana area, where the two had gone for pre-sowing farm work. Though the incident happened in the field, the aftermath reached the MIDC Cidco Police Station by Tuesday early morning. At around 4 am, a case of culpable homicide (IPC Section 304) was registered against the Chief Engineer of MSEDCL, the concerned lineman, and a staff member who was notified through WhatsApp (number: 7066042250), along with other officials who failed to act despite being alerted via video messages.

Ignored warnings led to the tragedy

For the past month, local farmers had repeatedly requested MSEDCL to remove hanging power lines from the field. However, these appeals were consistently ignored. On Monday, Kachru and Kiran went to their farm to prepare for sowing. Assuming that the wires—which had been without power since May 15—were still inactive, they attempted to push them aside. Tragically, power unexpectedly was live in the wires, and both suffered fatal electric shocks and died on the spot due to severe burns.

Late night interrogation of MSEDCL staff

The grief-stricken Dahihande family and local villagers continued their protests against MSEDCL on Tuesday. Acknowledging the severity of the situation, police summoned the responsible officials and staff from MSEDCL to the police station for questioning by Tuesday afternoon. As per reports, five MSEDCL officials and employees were under intense interrogation at the MIDC Cidco Police Station late into the night.