Karnataka: 16-year-old installing flagpole electrocuted in Tumakuru

TUMAKURU: A 16-year-old student was electrocuted when the iron pole he was erecting to hoist the national flag for Independence Day celebrations came in contact with overhead wires on the premises of Government Lower Primary School at Karikere in Tumakuru on Sunday.
The deceased is Chandan, class 10 student of a private school in Chikkathottalukere. Shashank, 16, class 10 student of a private school in Tumakuru and Pavan, 19, who worked in a tractor showroom, sustained minor burns in the accident.All three were rushed to a hospital in Tumakuru, where Chandan was declared brought dead. Kumar, Chandan’s father and a bus conductor, fell unconscious on seeing his only son’s body.
According to deputy director of public instruction C Nanjaiah, the three boys, all residents of Karikere, were the alumni of the school and had volunteered to take part in the celebrations as they used to do every year.
Villagers alleged that the teachers of the government school were responsible for the death and demanded action against them. Nanjaiah, however, said every year, the former students and villagers participate in the programme held on the school premises. He claimed no teacher had told them to erect the flagpole. “A compensation of Rs 1 lakh will be given to the parents of Chandan and the department will bear the medical expenses of the injured,” he said.
Nanjaiah said SDMC members and teachers had submitted several applications to Bescom seeking removal of the overhead wires drawn over their campus, but in vain. “They are now saying the overhead cables will be removed on Monday,” he added.