Rautahat, July 30

An elderly woman died after she was electrocuted at Gaur Municipality in Rautahat today.

The deceased has been identified as Shanti Devi Pandey, 70, of the municipality.

Police said the woman was electrocuted because she accidentally touched a naked wire while she was heading towards a nearby tea shop. Police said the elderly woman died on the way to a local health facility. Two bulls also died in the same incident. Further investigation into the incident is under way, said police.

Locals have complained that they had tried a lot to give information regarding the incident, but no one had received their phone calls at Nepal Electricity Authority, Gaur branch and Sabgada-based sub-station. The locals said that the woman had died because the authority concerned did not receive their phone calls.

They demanded compensation as the woman had died due to severe negligence on the part of staff at the authority office.

Meanwhile, Nepal Electricity Authority Distribution Centre, Gaur acting Chief Binod Singh said the incident occurred as the neutral wire had split suddenly. He said power supply was cut off immediately and that Gaur Municipality mayor had called about the incident.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.