Jeypore/Keonjhar: Three devotees were electrocuted to death during chariot pulling on the occasion of Bahuda Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in separate incidents in Odisha on Wednesday.
The first incident occurred at Kolab Nagar in Koraput district. The man identified as Babula Nayak (26) was in charge of brake of chariot. The flag of the chariot came in the contact with live wire when the chariot was rolling. Nayak suffered electric shock as the chariot was made of iron.
Nayak was immediately rushed to Saheed Laxman Nayak medical college where doctors declared him dead. Another person also suffered critical injuries in the incident. He is currently undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
A similar incident also took place in Kendua under Jhumpura block in Keonjhar district where two persons were electrocuted to death.
The deceased were identified as Jugal Barik (40) of Bhubanpasi village and Baruna Giri of Kendua village in the district. Both of them are member of Odisha driver Mahasangh.
The unfortunate incident occurred when they were pulling chariot. The chariot which was constructed in iron, touched the 11 kv live wire. Three persons were electrocuted. They were admitted to Jhumpura health centre. Jugal and Baruna succumbed to the injuries during treatment while another person was shifted to district headquarters hospital in critical condition.
The incident triggered tension in the locality as people blamed the electricity department and police personnel for such a tragedy.