Bengaluru: A 13-year-old boy is battling for his life at Victoria Hospital after he came in contact with an electrical line that was hanging dangerously close to a residential building, where the boy had climbed up to pick up a ball that had gone on a sunshade while he and his friends were playing cricket on Sunday.
The victim, Abdul Razak, is an eighth standard student at New Oxford School in L.B. Shasthri Nagar under HAL police limits. Razak has sustained 50% burns and the doctors have kept him under close observation at the Burns Ward in Victoria Hospital. They said the next 48 hours are crucial for the victim.
Victim’s uncle Mohammad Umar said that Razak left home around 4.30 pm on Sunday to play cricket on the road with five to six of his friends in Syed Block, which is half-a-kilometre away from his house. “One of Razak’s friends hit the ball and it landed on the sunshade of a three-storeyed residential building. Razak climbed the stairs and then had to get on to the sunshade from the second floor to get the ball. He got the ball and while he was getting up, his head came in contact with the electrical line that was dangerously hanging close to the sunshade without insulation. When the electric bolt threw him away, poor Razak tried to cling on to another live wire to avoid falling from the second floor’s sunshade. He then fell to the ground,” Umar told Deccan Chronicle.
Neighbours rushed Razak to the nearby MediHope Hospital in Indiranagar and informed Razak’s parents about the incident. As the child’s condition was critical, the doctors asked his parents who arrived there to shift him to a super-specialty hospital. He was then brought to St. Philomena’s Hospital around 6.30 pm, where too the doctors asked the parents to shift him to Victoria Hospital. Razak was then admitted to the critical care unit of the Burns Ward at Victoria Hospital. His condition is very critical, the doctors said.
Razak’s father Mohammad Ashraf, who works at a private firm, and his mother Sajida, who is a housewife, are praying for Razak’s recovery. Razak has an elder sister Subeida, and a younger brother Abdul Raheem. The HAL police received a memo for a medico-legal case from the MediHope Hospital on Sunday night after the accident, and the cops are in touch with the Razak’s father.
The complaint was not lodged till Monday evening as the victim’s parents were at the hospital. As there was no police complaint lodged until Monday evening, Bescom authorities were not aware of the incident.
“As there was no police complaint lodged, the incident came to our notice very late. We have sent our engineers for spot inspection and inquiries about the accident and once the report is filed,” said Sheila Gurumurthy, General Manager for Quality, Safety & Standards, Bescom.
Residents’ complaints
Victim’s relatives went to the spot to find out how the incident occurred. They learnt that the residents had complained to Bescom authorities about the high-tension wires close to the buildings in the area a number of times.
The residents also told Razak’s relatives that a man was electrocuted over a year ago when he stretched his hands standing on his balcony and came in contact with the same wire.
