Karachi [Pakistan], December 24 : A local court in Karachi imposed a fine of Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 4.819 million on K-Electric (KE) for the electrocution of a child to death in 2017, ARY News reported on Tuesday.
Senior Civil Judge East Ambreen Jamal found K-Electric guilty of negligence and failing to implement adequate safety measures to protect citizens, ordering the KE to pay PKR 4.819 million in compensation to the heirs of the victim. The decision came after a 7-year long legal battle fought by the victim's family.
The victim, Azhan, an 8-year-old child, died in 2017 after he was electrocuted by a live wire that broke from the K-Electric's pole during the rainfall in Karachi, ARY News reported.
The relatives of the child filed a case against K-Electric over its negligence.
Counsel of the plaintiff advocate, Usman Farooq, pleaded that the negligence of K-Electric in the case was evident, as the power supply company failed to install a guard wire, causing the death of Azhan, ARY News reported.
K-Electric is the only electricity supplying company in Karachi and it has been blamed for several similar incidents, as in September 2014 the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) imposed a Rs10 million fine on K-Electric over the electrocution incidents in Karachi from 2022 to 2023 that resulted in the deaths of 33 citizens. NEPRA rejected K-Electric's response to the show-cause notice and imposed the fine.
The NEPRA directed K-Electric to pay PKR 3.5 million in compensation to the heirs of each affected family. The authority also directed K-Electric to provide a job to one of the heirs of Muhammad Aslam, one of the victims, ARY News reported.
K-Electric has been highlighted as the distribution company with the highest number of fatalities in a report released by NEPRA for the fiscal year 2023-24, ARY News reported on December 11. K-Electric's service areas witnessed 34 fatal incidents, including the deaths of 32 citizens and two employees.
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