Cops book three persons for MSEDCL employee's death

Two Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd. (MSEDCL) officers and an electrical contractor have been booked for the death of Anand Jairam Kajale (29), a resident Dhankawadi, who died on duty while re-installing a DP fuse on July 12.

The officers against whom a case of culpable homicide has been registered have been identified as the then Deputy Executive officer Prashant Dattatraya Parate (47), then junior engineer Laxmikant Gangaram Jondhale (45), and an electrical contractor Nitin Ramesh Mule (38).

Police had initially registered a case of accidental death, but after investigations revealed the circumstances of the death, they initiated fresh action.u00a0Police sub-inspector Rajaram Shrirang Kshirsagar investigated the case and found during the inquiry that the accused had erected a three-pole structure without permission due to which the incident took place and Kajale's death had occurred.

Following the findings and after the post-mortem report was submitted by doctors at Sassoon hospital, PSI Kshirsagar filed a case against the three
accused. "Kajale had gone to Chandrangan society premises to re-install the DP fuse on the night of July 12 at around 8 pm.

While he was doing his work, Kajale suffered an electric shock due to which he sustained serious burn injuries," said Kshirsagar. "An electrical inspector has submitted a report stating that MSEDCL had given permission to lay an underground cable from Rajgad society to Chandrangan society. But the three accused erected a three-pole structure without permission at Chandrangan society premises," Kshirsagar added.u00a0

Tainted officers
It may be recalled that two of the accused - Parate and Jondhale - were arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials in a major raid that was conducted at the offices of MSEDCL at the Padmavati division. ACB had seized disproportionate assets worth Rs 87.70 lakh from the residence of Jondhale, while assets worth Rs 63.16 lakh were recovered from Parate's residence.u00a0