Two brothers electrocuted to death in UP's Basti, villagers stage protest

Gorakhpur (UP), Jun 10 (PTI) Two brothers were electrocuted to death on Tuesday in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district, triggering a protest and causing traffic disruption, police said.

The incident occurred around 7:30 am when Shashi Bhushan, 26, and his younger brother, Vishwa Vallabh, 23, were carrying an iron ladder through the village, they said.

As they passed beneath a sagging 11,000-volt high-tension wire, the ladder accidentally touched it and electrocuted the brothers. Despite villagers' desperate attempts to intervene using bamboo poles to move the wire, the victims died on the spot, police said.

Shashi Bhushan worked as a teacher in a private school, while Vishwa Vallabh was employed with a Motor company.

They had borrowed the ladder from a nearby intersection for some personal work.

Angered by the incident, villagers blocked the Basti-Tanda road and staged a protest, demanding strict action against the responsible officials. The protest caused traffic disruption for nearly half an hour before Nagar police, led by SHO Devendra Singh, managed to pacify the crowd and clear the blockade.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem, and an investigation has been initiated, SHO said. PTI COR ABN HIG