Gonda (UP), April 10 A 37-year-old man died after a high-voltage electric wire snapped and fell on him in the district on Friday, police said.
An FIR has been registered against five engineers of the electricity department in connection with the incident, while the district administration has ordered an investigation.
Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal said the incident occurred in the Pathwalia area under the Kotwali Nagar police station, where the victim, Ranjeet Tiwari, was standing outside his house and talking to children when a high-voltage line passing over his roof suddenly snapped and fell on him, killing him instantly.
Based on a complaint by his brother, Amarjeet Tiwari, a case has been registered against a junior engineer, sub-divisional officer, executive engineer, superintending engineer, and chief engineer of the department.
Senior officials, including District Judge Durga Narayan Singh, District Magistrate Priyanka Niranjan, and the superintendent of police, reached the spot soon after the incident.
The authorities assured compensation and appropriate action, after which the family agreed to the post-mortem and funeral arrangements.
The district magistrate said a four-member committee comprising the city magistrate, SDM Sadar, CO City, and chief engineer (hydel) has been constituted to investigate the matter, adding that the chief engineer may be removed from the panel as an FIR has been lodged against him.
Family members said Tiwari, who was an advocate and also worked as a correspondent for a reputed newspaper, had been repeatedly requesting the electricity department for years to shift the high-voltage line passing over his house and a nearby primary school, but no action was taken.
They alleged that despite funds being deposited by the basic education department for relocating such lines from above schools, the authorities failed to act, leading to the fatal accident.