PBEL City electrocution case: Pay Rs 10 lakh to Monish’s parents, orders consumer court

Hyderabad: Seven years of legal battle is a colossal struggle for parents grieving the sudden death of their child.

In February 2019, little Monish was playing in the lawn of PBEL City, a gated community in Narsingi, Hyderabad.

Little did the six-year-old know about the fatal tragedy about to strike him.

At around 6 pm, while playing bat-and-ball, he held a lamp post to retrieve a ball and suddenly collapsed. He subsequently died due to electrocution.

The investigation revealed that his hand came in contact with a live underground wire. He passed away on the spot and the incident, captured on CCTV footage, shocked Hyderabad.

The death that shocked gated communities everywhere

Monish was the son of techie Diwakar from Chennai. He was studying at a private school in Bandlaguda and lived with his parents at PBEL City. The entire incident was captured on CCTV camera and had shocked several gated communities about the way they are managed.

PBEL City gated community erupted into a protest with residents questioning the presence of a live underground wire in a public place. The facility company, Golden Star, was in big soup.

The postmortem report showed the truth

A case under sections 336, 337, 338 and 304 A of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the builders of the gated community, Incor, the agency that looks after the maintenance, Golden Star, and the residents’ welfare association.

The post-mortem report clearly indicated that the boy died of electrocution, while Golden Star and Incor tried their best to cover up the issue. For seven years, they spent heavily on lawyers and legal expertise to escape the blame.

But Monish’s parents did not give up. They fought against Golden Star for seven years. Diwakar ran from pillar to post to get the best lawyers to fight against the facility company.

Facility company ordered to pay Rs 10 lakh

A few days ago, the Hyderabad district consumer disputes redressal commission ordered the opposite party to pay Rs 10 lakh towards compensation for causing mental agony and hardship to the complainant for his lifetime. A payment of Rs 10,000 was also ordered towards the cost of the complaint.

“Money is not important. We won’t get our son back. But the order will prove that it was the facility company’s fault and they are held guilty for the death of my son,” said Diwakar.

The parents who hail from Chennai continue to live in Hyderabad with another child.