A 22-year-old street vendor died from electrocution on Saturday evening after attempting to sever a live electrical cable using his teeth during an alleged theft in the capital’s Dhanmondi area. The victim, identified as Md Russel, was discovered unconscious outside a residential property in Madhubazar around 7:00 pm on 29 August.

Local residents who witnessed the incident reported that Russel had entered the compound of a house in Madhubazar with the intention of stealing copper electrical cables. After failing to snap an overhead live wire with his hands, he attempted to bite through the insulation using his teeth. The physical contact with the uninsulated conductive metal resulted in an immediate high-voltage shock, knocking him unconscious to the ground below.

Alerted to the scene, Sub-Inspector (SI) Md Faruk Khan of Dhanmondi Police Station led an emergency response team that recovered the victim from outside the residential premises. Officers transported the unconscious young man to the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for urgent medical care. However, following clinical assessment, the attending emergency doctor pronounced him dead at approximately 9:30 pm.

Family members gathered at the hospital morgue expressed shock over the tragedy. His father, Md Akhtar Hossain, stated that Russel worked as a street vendor selling flowers and party balloons to earn a living. Originally hailing from the Madhabdi region in Narsingdi district, the family currently resides in a rented home in the Rayerbazar neighbourhood of Mohammadpur. Russel was the youngest of six siblings, comprising three brothers and three sisters, and leaves behind a young child.

Incidents involving illicit attempts to strip electrical cables and scrap metal carry severe risks across urban centers, particularly given the high-voltage transmission lines operating throughout Dhaka’s densely populated residential quarters. Attempts to dismantle utility infrastructure often result in fatal shocks or severe burning, as domestic electricity grids carry lethal current capable of causing immediate cardiac arrest or deep internal tissue destruction upon direct contact.

Law enforcement personnel have placed the body in the DMCH morgue pending a full autopsy to confirm the precise medical cause of death. Officers at Dhanmondi Police Station have recorded the incident and initiated formal legal procedures to investigate the surrounding circumstances.