Nagpur: Two recent fatalities have laid bare the authorities’ contrasting response depending on whether responsibility appears to lie with a private party or a govt agency. While a fatal wall collapse at a private building triggered swift action by the civic body and local MLA, no comparable action has followed the electrocution of a 60-year-old woman allegedly caused by an underground streetlight cable.On June 29, 52-year-old Santosh Gaur was killed when a portion of a parapet wall of a private building collapsed. The very next day, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) issued a notice to the building owner, BJP MLA Pravin Datke raised the matter in the Maharashtra Assembly, prompting the House to direct the govt to examine issue. Mayor Neeta Thakre also instructed the civic administration to initiate the process of extending financial assistance to the bereaved family.However, more than 72 hours after Afroz Begum Azim Khan died of electrocution in Auliyanagar, no FIR has been registered and no action was initiated against the contractor or civic officials despite allegations of negligence.The contrasting response has prompted residents and opposition leaders to question why similar urgency has not been shown in the electrocution case. Locals said neither the area’s MLA, the mayor nor the NMC commissioner visited the locality after the incident despite concerns over the safety of electrical infrastructure during the monsoon.The Congress has demanded criminal action. City Congress president Prafulla Gudadhe alleged that the civic administration was applying different standards of accountability depending on who was responsible for the negligence. He demanded that the NMC commissioner immediately register an FIR, fix responsibility on the officials and contractor concerned, and initiate action against those responsible for allegedly failing to repair the damaged streetlight cable.
