Patna: A chariot operator Alok Kumar (20) and his friend Anish Kumar (18) were electrocuted at Pirari village under Derni police station area of Saran district on Friday night.Police said the incident occurred while Alok, son of Harendra Singh, and Anish, son of Basudev Singh, from Basouta village in Bheldi police station area, were sleeping on the chariot at their maternal village following a wedding ceremony on Friday night.Around midnight, an 11,000 volt wire fell on the chariot, engulfing it in flames. Hearing the noise, local people gathered at the site but they could not save the youths, the police added.Confirming the incident, Sonepur's SDPO Nawal Kishore said the bodies were sent to Chhapra Sadar Hospital for a postmortem, and the police began an investigation.Priyanka Kumari, SHO of Derni police station, told this reporter that the police received the information about the incident at 12.40am.

"Alok, the chariot operator, and his friend Anish took the vehicle to the wedding procession to Khidkiya village from Bhitthi village in Isuapar police station area. After the wedding ceremony, they came back to their maternal village Pirari, where they parked their chariot in front of one Mishrilal Prasad's house and were sleeping on it," she said."Around 12.25am, the high-tension wire fell on the chariot, electrocuting the two and also burning the vehicle.

Both Alok and Anish were charred in the flames. Nearby residents rushed to the spot upon hearing the explosion, but they could not save the two. The bodies were handed over to their families after the postmortem," the SHO said.The villagers protested the incident and demanded strict action against the electricity department's negligence, which led to the accident. They claim that despite multiple complaints about dangerously low-hanging power transmission lines at the incident site, no corrective measures were implemented.