Five of a family electrocuted in Maharashtra's Jalgaon, farm owner booked

Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) In a heart-wrenching incident, five members of a family, including two children, lost their lives due to electrocution in Erandol taluka of Maharashtra's Jalgaon district on Wednesday, officials said.

The accident occurred near Khedi village, when the victims reportedly came in contact with high-voltage wires laid in a field to protect crops from wild animals.

The deceased have been identified as Vikas Ramlal Pavra, his wife Suman Pavra, their two sons Pawan and Kawal, and Pavra’s mother-in-law.

Their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Durga, miraculously survived the tragedy.

According to police, the Pavra family hails from Burhanpur district in Madhya Pradesh and was working as migrant labourers in Ambe Vadgaon village of Pachora taluka.

On Wednesday morning, they had gone to a nearby field in search of work when they accidentally came in contact with the live electric wires.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the farm owner had illegally installed electric fencing to prevent wild boars from coming into the field and damaging crops. In fact, police confirmed that two wild boars had also died earlier in the same field due to electrocution.

Following the incident, Erandol police took the farm owner into custody and are registering a case of culpable homicide (not amounting to murder) under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The police conducted a panchnama and seized all wires and cables from the farm. This will be presented in a court of law as evidence.

Police said the farm labourers may have known about the electric wires, but how they came into contact is a matter of investigation.

The tragedy has sparked outrage in the area, with villagers demanding strict action against those endangering human lives by setting up illegal electric traps in farmlands.

--IANS

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