Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
A day after the tragic death of Punjab University (PU) PhD scholar Jyoti due to electrocution on campus, the university administration on Wednesday suspended two engineering officials pending completion of the ongoing inquiry.
The suspended officials are Executive Engineer-II (additional charge) Anil Thakur and Sub-Divisional Engineer (Electrical) Lakhwinder Singh Dhanoa. Separate office orders issued by the university stated that both officers would remain under suspension until the investigation is completed or until further orders are issued.
Jyoti’s postmortem was conducted on Wednesday, after which her family took the body to Mahendragarh in Haryana for the last rites.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning during heavy rainfall on the PU campus. Jyoti, who was staying in Hostel No. 10 at the South Campus, was reportedly walking near Hostel No. 8 when she came in contact with an electrified area on the footpath and died from an electric shock.
Following the incident, angry students staged a protest and surrounded the Vice-Chancellor’s office, demanding accountability for the alleged negligence. The protest continued till late at night, during which Jyoti’s family also reached the campus.
After prolonged discussions with the family, the PU administration assured ₹16 lakh as compensation and offered a job to Jyoti’s brother on compassionate grounds.
According to university officials, the victim’s brother has completed Class 12 and holds an ITI diploma in Electrical trade. He will be appointed as an Electrician at Punjab University under Punjab government rules, with a basic pay of ₹19,900, ₹400 grade pay, dearness allowance, and other admissible benefits.
Preliminary findings by the team inspecting the accident site indicate that the footpath near the rear gate of Hostel No. 8 had junction boxes and electrical cables laid openly. One of the cables reportedly had a cut, and rainwater and moisture caused sparking, allowing electric current to spread across the wet footpath.
Sources associated with the inspection said that because of the heavy rain, around half a foot of water had accumulated on the road, forcing Jyoti to walk along the footpath where the damaged cable was located.
The spot where the accident occurred is about 50 metres from the front gate of Hostel No. 8, where security guards are usually present, but only 15 metres from the rear gate, which reportedly has no security deployment.
Eyewitness accounts and sources said that shortly before Jyoti’s family arrived on campus, PU staff reached the site, shut the junction boxes, and placed barricades around the area. Until then, students and other pedestrians had reportedly continued to pass through the same stretch.
The university has constituted an inquiry into the incident, and further action is expected based on the investigation report.
