Samba/Jammu: A 24-year-old labourer was electrocuted during the laying of electric cables in Samba district on Thursday, officials said.
The death of Sabir Hussain, a resident of Nagrota area of Jammu, at Bari Brahmana sparked protests by his relatives who blocked the Jammu-Pathankot highway for over two hours in the evening, resulting in a massive traffic jam, the officials said.
However, the protest culminated peacefully after Samba Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Sharma along with Senior Superintendent of Police Benam Tosh visited the scene and persuaded the protesters to disperse.
“An inquiry will be carried out into the incident to fix responsibility. An immediate relief of Rs one lakh was given to the family while the process was initiated to provide them an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh in accordance with the norms,” Sharma said.
PDP vice-president Hamid Choudhary said it is a matter of investigation how the electricity supply was restored when the labourers were busy working on the electric wires.
“Hussain’s death is the result of negligence on the part of the Power Development Department,” he said, demanding registration of a murder case against the concerned official and a government job to the family of the deceased.
