Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 1 : Junior Engineer (JE) Abhay Kumar of Prayagraj on Thursday climbed a mobile tower demanding the revocation of his suspension. His actions were spurred by the death of linemen linked to the malfunction of the 11KV Chhibaiya feeder.
Shailendra Sharma, Vice President, Rajya Vidyut Parishad Junior Engineer Sangathan, speaking to ANI, said that," Last night, around 11:00 or 11:30 PM, a 11KV Chhibaiya feeder went down. Our Junior Engineer (JE), Abhay Kumar, who is currently on the tower, worked from 11:30 PM to 2:30 AM to fix it and resolve the issue for the public. He returned home at 2:30 AM, only to find the feeder had broken down again. He instructed the linemen to fix it immediately and said he would join them. One lineman had called his cousin to help, who was not a department employee, without informing the JE. Unfortunately, that person had an accident on the pole and fell. Upon hearing this, the JE immediately told them to take him to the hospital and went there himself. He stayed until 3:00 or 3:30 AM. Sadly, the person passed away during treatment. All authorities and family members were informed."

He explained that the technician climbed a 40-foot tower to protest the "unjust" suspension of junior officials following a lineman's arrest.
He further said, "Later, the deceased's family filed an FIR against the lineman (TG2), who was subsequently suspended and reportedly arrested. However, today, without any investigation or prior information, we learned that our JE has also been suspended. Recommendations for the suspension of the SDO and Executive Engineer have also been sent to the Purvanchal office. Distressed by this, our colleague Abhay Kumar climbed this 40-foot tower with the intention of self-immolation. He refuses to come down despite our Superintending Engineer's efforts, stating that if such unjust actions continue, he will not descend and will take his own life."
Sharma denounced the "forced harassment" and arbitrary suspensions of power department employees, demanding accountability for senior officials after Abhay Kumar's protest.
He said,"He also stated that if he does, senior officials should be held accountable. We demand an end to this forced harassment. Transformers are static machines that can fail in this extreme heat, but JEs are being forced to pay for them from their own pockets. Such oppressive actions must stop. People are working honestly, sometimes 800 kilometres away from home, yet they are being harassed. Abhay Kumar fixed the feeder until 2:30 AM, yet he was suspended arbitrarily. We strongly oppose this.
Meanwhile, Suspended Junior Engineer Abhay Kumar demands a fair investigation and the revocation of his suspension, asserting that any punishment should only follow a proven finding of fault.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "An accident occurred here, resulting in the death of a person. I was suspended in connection with that incident. Any employee in the department who is at fault should definitely be punished. An investigation should be conducted, and action should be taken. If I'm wrong, action should be taken against me as well. The rule in our department is that after suspension, there's a surrender order, so anyone can be suspended. If I'm found guilty in the investigation, regardless of the punishment, there's a surrender order. An investigation should be conducted. My demand is that the suspension should be revoked."