Tension prevailed in Nilagiri of Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday after a youth died of electrocution while plucking flowers from a neighbour’s premises. The incident sparked unrest in the locality.

According to reports, the house owner in Sanatara under Nilagiri NAC had allegedly laid an electric wire around his property to prevent repeated flower thefts. The deceased, identified as Tapas Das, a neighbour, accidentally came in contact with the live wire while attempting to pluck flowers and died on the spot.

Electric Wire Set Up to Stop Flower Theft

According to reports, the house owner had installed the live wire around the garden area to prevent others from taking flowers. Local residents had reportedly been plucking flowers from the premises for Puja purposes. However, the owner had not raised any objections previously or discussed the matter with local residents regarding the shortage of flowers during Puja, reports stated.

As per reports, the individual was not inside the house premises but plucked flowers from outside the boundary where the tree had extended beyond the property line.

Police Begin Preliminary Investigation

Nilagiri Police reached the spot soon after the incident and initiated a preliminary investigation. The body of the deceased was later sent for a post-mortem. The house owner was reportedly not present at the scene at the time of reporting.

Also Read: Woman among two dead due to electrocution during Shyama Kali Puja in Puri

Tension in Local Area

Tension erupted in the locality following the incident as residents expressed concern over the manner in which the electric wire was installed and alleged lack of information about the wire installation. As per local accounts, the measures taken to stop flower plucking resulted in the loss of a life, leading to unrest and shock among residents.