A consumer court in Mandi Bahauddin has sentenced three officials in a case filed by the father of a nine-year-old boy left disabled due to electrocution from high-voltage wires passing over the roof of his house.
Judge Rao Abdul Jabbar Khan handed down two- year rigorous imprisonment each to a WAPDA XEN, sub-divisional officer and line superintendent and also imposed fine.
The court ordered the area SHO to arrest the officials for implementing the verdict after hearing the case under the Punjab Consumer Protection Act, 2005. The accused were not present at the time of the sentencing.
According to the complainant, his son born 27 years after marriage had suffered severe injuries in the leg, arm and hand. He stated that he had requested removal of the dangerous wires from the roof of the house for six years, but in vain.
Muhammad Akram of the Manuchak area of Mandi Bahauddin stated that the high voltage wires passed over his five-marla home at a low height. He said he had been requesting the local WAPDA office, to remove the wires but had bene asked to pay Rs160,000 for the purpose, which he could not afford.
“On September 5, my only son, Dawood, who was born 27 years after my marriage got electrocuted while playing on the roof, due to which he became disabled,” he stated.
The complainant said he had spent Rs1 million on the treatment of his son, while his house still remained in danger.
The three officials also appeared during the court proceedings and doctors confirmed the disability of the affected child.
The court declared that the tragedy had happened due to the negligence of the department.
The convicted officials are likely to challenge the sentence in high court.
Commenting on the case, Punjab Consumer Protection Director Mehmood Bhatti said citizens could approach the relevant court and council against poor products and inadequate facilities.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2022.
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