PERAMBALUR: A 28-year-old engineer died after being electrocuted while climbing a coconut tree to collect coconut sap ahead of Vaikunta Ekadasi in Perambalur, police said.

The deceased was identified as Sanjeev, son of Nagarajan, a resident of Rajaji Street in Sangupettai. He was an engineering graduate working temporarily at the Tiruchy Water Resources Department office. Police said Sanjeev had gone to a coconut grove near a private matriculation school on Vilamuthur Road, owned by Madhiyazhagan, stating that he would return after collecting coconut sap.

When he did not return for a long time, his brother Mugilan and friends tried calling him, but the phone rang without a response.

Mugilan later went to the grove and found Sanjeev lying dead beneath a coconut tree.

Police suspect that Sanjeev came in contact with a nearby electric wire while climbing the tree, leading to electrocution and a fatal fall. He was taken to the Perambalur GH, where doctors declared him dead.

Following a complaint by Mugilan, Perambalur police registered a case. After a post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the family on Tuesday.