LUCKNOW, March 10 -- 30am on February 28, Parshuram Rawat climbed a ladder at the Sector 25 powerhouse in Indira Nagar to repair a faulty jumper fuse on a 33 kV line. Moments later, a surge of electricity ran through his body, throwing him off balance. By the time he hit the ground headfirst, the 48-year-old contractual lineman was dead.

For the electricity department it was another accident; for Rawat's family, it meant the loss of their only breadwinner.

Rawat had allegedly been asked to carry out the repair late at night without a safety belt or protective gear and in the absence of senior officials. Preliminary findings suggest the work should have been handled by technical staff, yet Rawat was sent up the ladder.

His death has onc...