‘Barbed Wire Around CRPF Camp Was Electrified’

DANISH NABI

Srinagar, July 23: An irrigation official was electrocuted when he accidentally grasped electrified barb wire fencing of a CRPF at Hamadania Colony Bemina on Thursday. Police have registered a case of negligence, while the people protested by observing a strike.
Witnesses said that the 32-year-old Fayaz Ahmad Bhat of Khalidabad, Bhagaat slipped from the banks of the Bemina canal he and six of his colleagues were measuring.
However, he grabbed the barb wire around the CRPF camp to stop his slide into the waters.
“The wire was connected to electricity. He was taken to hospital in half-dead condition and he later succumbed,” said an eyewitness, Noor Muhammad.
After the incident, all the shops in the area closed down and the residents started dismantling the fencing. But when they tried to bring down the fencing of the bunker, the CRPF troopers stopped them, triggering a demonstration. The protesters blocked the traffic and shouted slogans against the CRPF.
The CRPF camp housing 44 battalion has been recently deployed in the area. The residents said the troopers have connected barb wire to a supply line from a nearby power transformer. “We avoid going close to the camp, but people who are not aware are prone to fatal electrocution like what happened today. If the wiring is not removed it may consume more lives,” they added.
Fayaz was working as a helper in the Irrigation and Flood Control department and he was lone bread winner of his family. He is survived by his wife, mother, and a 3-year-old daughter. The body was taken to police control room for post mortem and it was handed over to the family for last rites.
Relatives of Fayaz said, “He left for the job in the morning but only hours after his departure we came to know about his death. We don’t know what happened to him. All we have been told is that he was electrocuted,” said a relative of Fayaz.
The commandant of the CRPF, P K Mandal, said the wire was not electrified for security reasons. “It is Just an accident. Our power supply line passes underneath the barbed wire and its insulation may have got damaged, resulting in electrification of the concertina wires,” he said.
Sub-Inspector of police at Parimpora police station said the police have registered a case of accident and negligence under section 304 Crpc. The Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar, Riyaz Bedaar, said the police would investigate.
“We are waiting for a statement of the employees who were accompanying him at the spot. After that we can fix the blame,” he said. Asked about the electrification of the fencing for security reasons, he said, “We don’t know anything about it yet but we will investigate into it.”