One charred to death as DP box catches fire at Pune’s Dange chowk

An unidentified person was charred to death after he accidentally peeped into a DP box near Dange chowk at Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday afternoon.  According to  Rahatani fire station officials, they got a distress call from citizens informing about a burning DP box at BRT road near the chowk at around 1 pm.

A unit of fire and rescue officials rushed to spot to find a body trapped in it. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) officials had switched off the power whereas fire was doused by rescuers under leading fireman Santosh Sarode. The age and identity of the recovered body could not be confirmed and it was sent to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital.   The Wakad police have registered a case of accidental death and started a probe to spot victim’s relatives. 

 “He had to surpass outer gate and door to reach this DP box. We ruled out the possibility of any electricity board employee being the victim. Only the skin is remaining and hence we are incapable of identifying the body. So we are waiting for the autopsy result. We hope relatives would turn up and register man missing complaint in some police station,” said Assistant Police Inspector (Wakad station) Santosh Patil told Hindustan Times  “In any case, no laymen, including private electricians have any authority to open that DP box,” Patil added.   Officials said that it could be a case of suicide or even that of the victim trying to steal components made of copper from the box. 

 “This seems to be a case of unqualified person fiddling with the earthing system leading to a fire. This happens normally during festivals. Private electricians illegally draw power from DP boxes. Normally they reinstate connections in the old state before officials take punitive action,” said Omkar Pise, a licensed electrical contractor.