Beed, Apr 1 A 37-year-old farmer was killed after being struck by lightning during a sudden spell of unseasonal rains and thunderstorms in the Parli Vaijnath tehsil of Maharashtra's Beed district, police said on Wednesday.
The victim, identified as Balaji Baburao Chavan, was working in his agricultural field and took shelter under a tree to escape the unexpected showers in the Sabadrabad area. Moments later, a large bolt of lightning struck the tree, instantly killing him on Monday night, they said.
In a separate incident in Kaudgaon Huda village under Parli Vaijnath tehsil, another farmer, Dhanraj Ashroba Phapal, lost his bull in a lightning strike.
Taking note of the two incidents, Parli in-charge Tehsildar Vinod Ranware directed administrative officials to visit the sites and conduct assessments (panchnamas).
"We have received reports of the loss of life and livestock. The assessment reports have been submitted to the District Collector's office. We are processing the cases to ensure that the affected families receive financial assistance from the Disaster Management Fund as soon as possible," he stated.