Two children electrocuted to death

Two children lost their lives after getting electrocuted when they accidentally came in contact with a live wire which was laid to keep animals away from a poultry farm. The incident took place at Ashoknagar in North 24 Parganas on Thursday night. The incident led to tension in the area which continued till Friday afternoon.

Owners of the farm fled soon after the incident. On Friday, a mob first ransacked their houses and set it ablaze.

Police said the victims Subhamita Seal and Arup Biswas were playing hide-and-seek with some of their friends in an open field adjacent to the farm. Subhamita, Arup and another boy Ganesh Biswas went to hide behind the farm where they accidently touched the live wire. All three lost their consciousness.

Their other friends and some local people rushed to the spot hearing their screams. They took them to hospital where Subhamita and Arup were declared brought dead while Ganesh was admitted with severe injuries.

The situation turned worse when the entire village came to know about the incident early on Friday morning. Though the farm owners — Paritosh Seal, Abhijit Biswas and Rina Biswas — managed to flee soon after the incident, local people set their houses on fire.

The incident revealed that use of live electric wire to save guard chickens in poultry farms from dogs and other such animals are still going on. It may be mentioned that a similar incident had taken place at Gaighata in North 24 Parganas on June 20. Three persons were arrested in connection with the incident.

The police initiated a search for the absconding persons.

Police officers from local police station went to the spot and assured that they are taking necessary steps to arrest the farm owners as early as possible.