Chennai woman found dead in stagnant rainwater may have been electrocuted

CHENNAI: The police are investigating the death of a 59-year-old woman who was found unconscious in stagnant rainwater in Anna Nagar on Sunday (August 23) night, after Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) officials said the woman did not fall into a pit dug up for stormwater drain works, as reported initially, and said that storm water drain works in the stretch were completed two months ago.

The woman, identified as M Kalavathi, was found unconscious in 1.5-foot-deep stagnant water on 5th avenue, Anna Nagar. She worked as a housekeeping staff at a sweet stall in Anna Nagar.

The incident happened on Sunday (August 23) evening when she was returning from a church. Her daughter Sangeetha (28) told mediapersons that her mother called her on the phone around 9 pm and told her she would return home late.

"About 11 pm, I received a call and the caller, who claimed to be a policeman, said he would send a photograph on WhatsApp and asked me to confirm if it was my mother," Sangeetha recalled.

She said the policeman told her that her mother seemed to have suffered an electric shock, as the rescuers reported feeling an electric shock while moving her.

According to police personnel, onlookers saw the woman lying unconscious in water and alerted the police. The police with the help of people pulled Kalavathi out of the stagnant water and moved her to a hospital, where she was declared as brought dead.

Her body was then sent to Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

A senior official from the Chennai municipal corporation said, "The storm water drain works on that stretch were completed two months ago. The man who retrieved the woman's body mentioned feeling an electric shock when he touched her."

However, no exposed cables were found at the spot, where the woman was found.

Officials from the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited and police personnel have inspected the scene and gathered CCTV footage, while the police are awaiting the post-mortem result to ascertain the cause of death.