Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 10: Irate public staged strong protest demonstration along with the dead body of a young Post Graduation student and blocked Jammu-Poonch highway near Sunderbani today after a 11 KV line fell on the local line resulting into death of youth and causing damage to the electronic gadgets of the people in Thanda Pani area of district Rajouri.
The incident took place at around 9.30 pm last night. Suddenly, the high voltage 11 KV line between Jammu and Daraba (Surankot), broke near Thanda Pani in Sunderbani area and fell on the local (LT) line. The local line got highly charged and its voltage went high causing damage to the electronic gadgets of the people including TV and refrigerators.
Young PG student of Kurukshetra University, Pankaj Sudan (23), son of Khem Raj, resident of Thanda Pani reportedly saw smoke coming out of his mobile phone which had been put for charging. He tried to remove the plug. But the youth got trapped and received severe electric shocks.
With this a panic was created in the area as gadgets of many people were damaged in no time. They informed police and PDD officials but it took long time to snap the power supply on the line and rectify the fault, resulting into great resentment among public. The police reached the spot and asked the public to take all precautions and not to touch their electronic gadgets.
The critically injured Sudan was rushed to Sunderbani hospital by villagers where doctors declared him as brought dead. The police party from Sunderbani after conducting postmortem handed over the body to parents and relatives at around 8 am today. A large number of villagers had also gathered at hospital.
The relatives and villagers then took the dead body and kept it on the Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway near Thandapani at around 8.15 am and blocked the road. The traffic on this busy highway came to grinding halt. The villagers started protest demonstration against PDD authorities. They were raising slogans against Chief Minister, in-charge PDD, MoS PDD Vikar Rasool and Chief Engineer. They alleged that young boy has been killed due to negligence of PDD officials and substandard work initiated on the 11 KV line. They said people have suffered huge loss and they all be compensated.
They further demanded that FIR be registered by the District Administration against the PDD staff concerned, Rs 10 lakh compensation be given to the family of the deceased and one member of the deceased family be given Government job. SHO Sunderbani Devinder Katoch and Tehsildar Rajinder Pal reached the spot and pacified the agitating public but the people refused to clear highway.
Later, Additional SP Nowshera, Parshotam Sharma also reached there. But public protest continued despite his mediation. Long queues of vehicles on both sides were created and passengers kept suffering in the hot weather for long. Even the Army vehicles remained struck for hours together.
Later, senior Congress leader and MLC Ravinder Sharma who hailed from the area reached and inquird about the whole matter. He spoke to the Deputy Commissioner Rajouri, F C Bhagat on phone and expressed that public anger and demands were genuine and justified. He pressed for registration of an FIR and compensation to the deceased’s family. The DC then agreed to lodge FIR and pay Rs 3 lakh compensation immediately to the victim’s family and hold inquiry into the matter.
The DC sent XEn PDD Rajouri Munshi Khan on the spot who also assured the public to provide compensation and take serious note of the issue. It was also agreed to provide job to one member of the family in the department.
After the demands of the agitating public were accepted by the District Administration with the mediation of the local legislator, the public lifted dharna and dead body from the road at around 2 pm. The traffic was restored on the highway. The traffic jam was also created on 3-4 km road and it took at least two more hours to clear the road to the Traffic.
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