Man suffers burns, crowd clicks pics

Bengaluru: In a shocker, the public chose to click photos and record videos, instead of rushing to the help of a 24-year-old assistant engineer of a private company, whose body had caught fire after hot oil from a transformer spilled on him while he was repairing the unit on the busy Hosur Road Junction in Adugodi on Monday afternoon. Om Prakash Mishra, an assistant engineer with Siemens and hailing from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, is being treated at St John’s Hospital for burns.

Mishra was repairing the transformer when it suddenly exploded and hot oil splashed on him, setting him on fire. As he was writhing in pain and crying out for help, the passersby refused to help. But a few Good Samaritans from a nearby hotel rushed to his help. Sudhir, who was trying to help Mishra, flagged down an autorickshaw to take him to a hospital, but the auto driver refused. However, a man in a car, who was driving by, shifted Mishra to St. John's Hospital with the help of a traffic policeman and a friend.

The transformer had been put up by Siemens in collaboration with Bescom on the roadside. As per the standard operating procedure, the company should inform Bescom authorities and wait for the electric supply company officials to arrive at the spot before taking up the repair work. But Mishra had opened the transformer box and started repairing the faulty unit before any of Bescom officials had come to the place.

Bescom officials from the quality standards and safety department said that though the maintenance of private transformers was up to the owners of the units, they usually contact the power utility during installation and repair works. “Our staff members visit the spot and open the units for them. In this case, even before our people reached the place, the transformer had been opened. Hot oil from the unit spilled out and the company employee suffered burns,” a senior official said.

An eyewitness said Mishra was accompanied by two employees of KPTCL, but they fled. Health Minister U.T. Khader said that the case will be looked into and strict action will be taken against KTCL staff members, who reportedly fled the scene. The Adugodi police have taken up a case of negligence and are investigating.