Abhay Kumar, a Junior Engineer (JE) from the Electric Department in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, climbed a 40-foot mobile tower on Thursday to protest against his suspension.
His actions followed the death of a lineman related to a malfunction of the 11KV Chhibaiya feeder.
Shailendra Sharma, Vice President of the Rajya Vidyut Parishad Junior Engineer Sangathan, told ANI that the 11KV Chhibaiya feeder failed around 11:00 to 11:30 PM the previous night. Kumar worked on the issue from 11:30 PM to 2:30 AM to restore service for the public. After returning home at 2:30 AM, he found the feeder had failed again and instructed linemen to fix it immediately, planning to assist them.
Sharma explained that a lineman had called his cousin, who was not a department employee, to help without informing the JE. Unfortunately, this individual suffered an accident on the pole and fell. Kumar ordered that he be taken to hospital and accompanied him, remaining there until 3:00 or 3:30 AM. The person died during treatment, and all relevant authorities and family members were informed.
The technician's protest was prompted by the suspension of junior officials following the arrest of a lineman. Sharma said, “Later, the deceased’s family filed an FIR against the lineman (TG2), who was subsequently suspended and reportedly arrested. However, today, without any investigation or prior information, we learned that our JE has also been suspended. Recommendations for the suspension of the SDO and Executive Engineer have also been sent to the Purvanchal office.”
He added that Kumar, distressed by the actions against staff, climbed the tower intending self-immolation and refused to come down despite appeals from the Superintending Engineer, stating, “if such unjust actions continue, he will not descend and will take his own life.”
Sharma condemned the suspensions as “forced harassment” and demanded accountability from senior officials. He said, “Transformers are static machines that can fail in this extreme heat, but JEs are being forced to pay for them from their own pockets. Such oppressive actions must stop. People are working honestly, sometimes 800 kilometres away from home, yet they are being harassed. Abhay Kumar fixed the feeder until 2:30 AM, yet he was suspended arbitrarily. We strongly oppose this.”
Kumar, speaking to reporters, called for a fair investigation and the revocation of his suspension. He stated, “An accident occurred here, resulting in the death of a person. I was suspended in connection with that incident. Any employee in the department who is at fault should definitely be punished. An investigation should be conducted, and action should be taken. If I’m wrong, action should be taken against me as well. The rule in our department is that after suspension, there’s a surrender order, so anyone can be suspended. If I’m found guilty in the investigation, regardless of the punishment, there’s a surrender order. An investigation should be conducted. My demand is that the suspension should be revoked.”