An 18-year-old boy and a 36-year-old biker were electrocuted at separate places in the city. In both cases, the suspected cause is torn electric wires hidden by rainwater.

The teenager died in Patuli after he stepped into a puddle on the footpath. A live wire that had possibly fallen into the water electrocuted him on Friday afternoon, police said.

The other incident happened when the motorcyclist was returning home on Thursday night and came in contact with a live high-tension wire that had got snapped and was dangling dangerously along a road in Haridevpur.

The teenager, Sujoy Mondal, a resident of Balmiki Abasan in Patuli, was playing with a makeshift fishing rod and trying to catch fish on the waterlogged footpath when he was electrocuted around 4.15pm, the police said. He was found dead on the footpath near his home.

The building where he lives is near the Patuli fire station and the footpath is frequented by hundreds of people.

“There were some loose overhead wires strewn all over the area. It appears that he got electrocuted through the water in which he was standing. A CESC team came to the spot and disconnected the power supply of the area before the youth could be removed,” said an officer of Patuli police station.

The boy was declared dead at Baghajatin State General Hospital. His body has been sent for post-mortem.

A CESC spokesperson said: “Prima facie, it appears that the wire that was lying on the road was an earthing wire and not a live wire. Ideally, an earthing wire is not expected to carry current. But this is only the preliminary finding. We have launched a detailed probe into the matter to ascertain the exact cause of this incident.”

The second incident happened on the southern fringes of the city in Haridevpur when a motorcyclist returning home from work apparently got electrocuted purportedly after coming in contact with a torn overhead high-tension wire on Thursday night.

Manik Barui, a Haridevpur resident, was returning home around 10.30pm when he fell on the road and lost consciousness.

The police said residents of 22 Bigha in Nabapally alerted them. Cops reached the spot and found that Barui, who still had his headgear on, was lying unconscious with his hand in contact with a live electric wire that had got torn and was dangling overhead.

Barui, who worked as a driver, was taken to Vidyasagar State General Hospital where he was declared dead 20 minutes past midnight.

A probe has been launched into Barui’s death and officials of the state electricity board have been informed about the snapped wire that apparently caused his death.

The police said they had identified the lamp post from which the wire had snapped.

“The incident happened near Lokenath temple, which is close to an electric pole. Torn high-tension wires were lying on the road when we went to the spot,” said an officer of Haridevpur police station.

The West Bengal State Electricity board officials visited the spot and have launched a separate probe into the incident.

The police said the electricity board would submit a separate report on the cause of the incident.

Last month, a 25-year-old man was electrocuted while returning home. Rishav Mondal had been wading through the waterlogged road outside Raj Bhavan on May 12.

Mondal had apparently slipped on the footpath and tried to regain his balance by holding a lamp post when he had come in contact with a live wire before being electrocuted.