A farmer and his wife died of electrocution on Thursday in Janduon Ki Dhani, in the Khimsar area of the Gida region of Rajasthan, after a broken high-voltage power line came into contact with an iron-mesh fence near their animal enclosure, according to reports.

Source: IANS via The Columns

Around 13 to 14 sheep and goats also died in the incident, the reports said.

How the incident unfolded

According to eyewitness accounts cited in the reports, a live wire from an overhead three-phase power line snapped and fell onto the farm's iron-mesh fencing, electrifying the enclosure. As the sheep and goats inside began suffering electric shocks, Ravtaram Kadwasra rushed in to save them and was electrocuted.

Seeing her husband in distress, his wife Veero Devi rushed to help him and suffered a fatal electric shock when she touched the enclosure's iron gate. Both died on the spot, the reports said.

Villagers allege the hazard was reported a day earlier

Residents have alleged that the power line had broken a day earlier and that electricity department officials had been informed by telephone about the danger, but that no timely action was taken to disconnect the supply or repair the line. These are allegations by villagers, reported as such; officials' response was not included in the reports.

The family and residents have demanded strict action against those responsible, including registration of a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, subject to investigation.

Following the incident, a team from Nagana police station, along with the in-charge of the Batadu police outpost, reached the site and arranged for the power supply to be disconnected. Police took both bodies to the Batadu mortuary for post-mortem examinations, after which they were to be handed over to the family.