She has lost some fingers, could lose her arm

How many electrocutions will it take to get the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) to act? This is a question being asked after yet another incident left a six-year-old girl with extensive burns and the possibility of amputation.

In a cruel irony, Rakshita V.’s family was vacating their second-floor accommodation in Sunkatakatte and was set to leave when the LKG student ran upstairs to retrieve her hairclip. On the way, she accidentally touched a live wire dangling within arm’s distance, severely burning herself.

Though it happened on Monday, it went unreported as Bescom officials were not informed.

Rakshita is the only daughter of Venkatesh L., a cab driver, and Savitha, a homemaker. The family was to shift to Tumkur, but since the accident the parents are camping at Victoria Hospital, where their daughter has been admitted in the burns ward.

Completely burnt

The child was first rushed to a private hospital nearby and then taken to Victoria. Her burns are so severe that her left hand is completely burnt, and two fingers of her right hand have been amputated. “Her left arm has deep burn injuries and we are trying our best to save it. We have already operated on it and will be performing the second surgery later,” a doctor attending on her said.

She has also burns on her legs, back, shoulders, stomach and chest, which can be treated. “But we are apprehensive about her left hand.”

Rakshita’s parents are bitter about their former landlord Chikkanna, a dhaba owner. “We had requested him to do something about the wires, but he paid no heed. There are many children and senior citizens living in the two-storey house and their lives are under constant threat,” Ms. Savitha said.

Bescom inspects

Bescom officials, who were informed about the incident by The Hindu, inspected the site on Friday. A senior official said that an inquiry would be conducted by the electrical inspectorate. “If the victim was electrocuted by the live wire outside, Bescom is liable to pay compensation to her,” the official added.