The inquiry into the tragic deaths by electrocution of two young brothers in a West Jaintia Hills village recently has yet to be completed, Power Minister James K Sangma informed the Assembly today.
On March 10 Ripynskhem Papeng (9) and Ardaban Papeng (2) were electrocuted outside their home in Umsalait and died on the spot.
“The police report and post-mortem report are awaited for the compilation of the final report,” Sangma said in a written statement to a call attention motion by United Democratic Party legislator Nujorki Sungoh.
When officials from the department reached the spot on being informed of the accident, “it was observed that one half of the broken pin insulator of the 11kv line was attached to the channel of the 11kv pole and the other half on the ground,” the statement said.
“It is to be mentioned that, during the process of spot enquiry, it was learnt that a day before the incident, on March 9, there was heavy rainfall along with lightning, which might have caused the breakage of the pin insulator due to being struck by lightning,” Sangma said.
He also informed that the office of the Inspectorate of Electricity had already passed an order for conducting an inquiry into the accident, as required under Section 161 of the Indian Electricity Act 2003.
