A man who was drawing water from an underground waterline using a portable pump was electrocuted possibly after coming in contact with the pump while his hands were wet.
The 31-year-old father of three was declared dead in a hospital. People in the neighbourhood said Rahul Dubey, a resident of Maharshi Debendra Road in Jorabagan, was flung off on the road moments later he was seen touching the pump with his bare hands.
He was taken to Vishudhhananda Hospital where he was declared dead.
"It appears to be a case of electrocution. But the exact cause or sequence of the event that led to the man's death is yet to be ascertained. The body has been sent for postmortem," said an officer probing the case. An unnatural death case has been started.
Many who live in the congested north Kolkata neighbourhood said that the common taps through which the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is supposed to provide water are dry. "Most of the taps are either broken or dry forcing us to artificially draw water using pumps. Had the tap outside his house been working he would not have needed to draw water using a Tulu pump," said a neighbour.
Meena Devi Purohit, the BJP councillor of ward 22 where the incident happened went to the spot and said she was not aware of the problem of the dry taps in the locality. She asked the people to report such problems directly to her in future.
Dubey who is survived by his wife, two daughters and son, worked in a transport company and had shifted to this house as a tenant less than a month ago, the police said.
The police said the CESC had been informed and a portion of the common meter box from where the family was drawing electricity had been sealed.
A forensic team is likely to visit the spot for an examination of the pump and the electric board from where the connection was drawn for the pump.