Puri: A pall of gloom descended in Baliapanda area of Puri district when two youth died after allegedly suffering electric shocks while carrying out television cable work. The two youth were carrying out the work on premises of the Baliapanda police station.

The deceased have been identified as Bapi Pradhan and Subrat Sahu. Pradhan reportedly hailed from Jali Sahi near Ram Mandir, while Sahu was a resident of Mangala Sahi in the Baliapanda police station area.

According to Puri Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh, the two youths had been repairing a cable when it came into contact with an 11-kV electricity line, resulting in their deaths at the spot. 

The bodies were subsequently taken to Puri District Headquarters Hospital in a PCR vehicle.

However, allegations emerged the police did not call an ambulance or inform the families before transporting the bodies to the hospital. The circumstances surrounding the incident and the handling of the bodies have triggered tension at the hospital.

Following the incident, the Puri SP, and senior police officials reached the hospital.

The SP described the incident as extremely unfortunate and said two unnatural death cases had been registered at Baliapanda police station.

Meanwhile, the families of the deceased staged a sit-in outside the hospital’s post-mortem facility, demanding justice. Tension prevailed on the hospital premises as the families sought clarifications over the deaths.