Five Koppal boys electrocuted as flagpole falls on live wire

HUBBALLI: Five high school students of a government hostel were instantly electrocuted when they touched a flagpole leaning on hightension cables. One of the boys, 16-year-old Mallikarjun Amaresh Obalabandi, tried to remove the flagpole set up on the terrace when it slipped and came in contact with the wires. The others lost their lives trying to save him.

The boys, all from poor families, were studying at different schools in Koppal and staying at the D Devaraj Urs Pre-Metric Hostel in Bannikatti, run by the Backward Comminities and Minorities (BCM) department. Initial reports said the warden was not around when the incident occured early morning on Sunday. Besides the warden, a cook, assistant cook and a peon are stationed at the hostel which has around 60 students.

Warden Basavaraj Belavad and Gescom official Nagaratna were arrested and let out on bail. Police are looking for the building owner.

CM BS Yediyurappa announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each of the families of the students and ordered an inquiry. “I have directed the deputy commissioner of Koppal to disburse the amount on Monday itself,” the CM said in Bengaluru.

Locals say hostel overcrowded, unsafe for students

At 6am on Sunday, Mallikarjun was tasked with removing the flagpole set up on the terrace for Independence Day. Mallikarjun, a class 10 student from Metagal village, tried to uproot the metal pole but lost his balance and the pole fell on the 11KV high-tension cables hanging from a transformer barely three feet away.

Seeing Mallikarjun collapse, four others rushed to his rescue. Basavaraj Fakirappa Jelli, 16, of class 10 from Mukkumpi village; Devaraj Nagappa Hadapad, 14, of class 9 from Halageri; Kumar Lachhappa Lamani, 14, of class 9 from Bidanal Tanda; and Ganesh Nagappa Kuri, 14, of class 8 from Lachanakeri died instantly.

“We thought Mallikarjun had passed out while removing the flagpole so the others rushed to help him,” said a student. “As soon as they touched the pole, they were also knocked down like ninepins. We realised they were electrocuted only after the elders came from nearby houses and told us.”

Gescom officials and personnel rushed to the spot and disconnected power supply in the area. The bodies were later shifted to the district hospital for postmortem. The students of the hostel who were in state of panic, were sent home.

Mallikarjun’s parents, who work at a garment factory, had reached Koppal on Sunday morning to meet their son. “When we heard of the deaths, we were hoping our son was not among them, but that was not to be,” said father Amaresh, breaking down.

Deputy commissioner P Sunil Kumar visited the spot and said prima facie, it appeared to be a case of negligence of Gescom and hostel authorities. “We have registered cases against warden Belavad, building owner Basanagouda Venkanagouda Hirevenkanagoudar and Gescom officials in charge of Bannikatti area,” Koppal SP Renuka Sukumar said.

‘Gescom failed to act’

District officials passed the buck to Gescom, saying they had been alerted about the transformer. “We are aware that an 11 KV transformer is near the hostel. We had requested Gescom 2-3 times to shift it. But there was no response,” said Veeranna Ashapur, district officer of the BCM department.

Locals held a protest, saying the hostel was overcrowded and unsafe for students. They also alleged that warden Belavad had been given additional responsibility at the taluk BCM office and was hardly ever at the hostel. “The cook and other staff were looking after the students,” said a resident. Ashapur denied that the warden had been assigned to the taluk office and said he was present in the hostel when the tragedy occurred. “This risk has been there since 2008,” said Gururaj Desai, a resident. “We had been demanding that the hostel building be shifted as it is not spacious enough. Earlier, a post-metric hostel was functioning here. When students protested in 2011, the post-metric hostel was shifted but a pre-metric onewas opened. This is just to placate the building owner.”

“The building was not fit to accommodate many students,” said Amaresh Kadagad, SFI district president. Members of CITU and Krushi Kooli Karmikara Sangh joined the protest and sought Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the dead.