A six-year-old boy, died due to electrocution while playing cricket at Renuka Residency in the GCC Layout of Madhurawada in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.According to preliminary information from local authorities, the boy, identified as Kuriti Akhil, son of Narayana Rao, was playing cricket with friends when the ball rolled behind a newly erected Ring Main Unit (RMU). While retrieving the ball, the child reportedly came in contact with a damaged or rusted earth wire, that was leaking current.An investigation into the accident suggests recent ground excavation work, carried out by the contractor for the RMU installation, might have damaged the underground cable infrastructure. Officials said that the transformer’s earth wires were found to be rusted and in a damaged condition.Departmental staff, who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, reported that there was no tripping of the 11 kV feeder at the time of the accident, nor was there any blow-off of the Low Tension (LT) section fuse of the Distribution Transformer (DTR).The incident has triggered concerns among the residents over the safety of electrical installations in residential areas. Police shifted the body for post-mortem, and have begun further inquiries to determine whether it was negligence by the contractors involved. Published - June 21, 2026 09:56 pm IST