Two 19-year-old friends died after coming into contact with an 11,000-volt overhead power line while cutting maize fodder in a field near Sangar and Burj Karamgarh villages in Sirsa district on Friday evening.
The victims, Devender Singh and Daljit Singh, both residents of Rori village, were operating a silage-making machine in a field where maize was being harvested. According to family members, the two had gone to the field on the instructions of the contractor.
A co-worker, Jagdeep, said they had been working since morning and that the high-tension power line passed unusually low over the field. Around 7.30 pm, Devender and Daljit were loading chopped fodder into a trailer when they stood up and accidentally came in contact with the live wire.
Family members alleged that Devender’s neck touched the power line first. When Daljit tried to rescue him, his hand also came into contact with the wire and both collapsed. They were first taken to a private hospital and later referred to the Civil Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. The police shifted the bodies to the Civil Hospital mortuary and began an investigation.
The bereaved families blamed the power utility for negligence, alleging that repeated demands to raise or shift the low-hanging high-tension line had been ignored. They demanded an FIR against the officials concerned.
The families also accused the field owner and the contractor of misleading the workers by claiming that the electricity supply had been switched off before the work began.
Devender was the only son of farmer Gurdarshan Singh and had recently purchased the silage-making machine. Daljit, also the only son in his family, had accompanied his close friend to help with the work. Both were actively involved in farming.