HARIPUR, Aug 22: A labourer was electrocuted while working on the roof of a newly-constructed house on Jail Road here on Friday.

Police said Shamraiz Khan, a resident of Balakot, while working on the roof of the house in Mohalla Jehangirabad accidentally touched the 11kv transmission line passing overhead and died on the spot.

The incident sparked protest in the city as angry people blocked the main road and set ablaze tyres.

Protesters, led by some councillors and Nazims, placed the coffin of the dead labourer in the middle of the road at Panian Chowk and blocked it for vehicular traffic. They also set fire to tyres. They demanded suspension of the officials responsible for the incident.

Some protesters also marched to the Pesco office and lodged a protest with the power utility officials over the death of the labourer.

Pesco deputy manager Said Ghaffar Khan assured the protesters that strict action would be taken against the officials found responsible for the negligence. He also assured the protesters that the electric wires would be shifted from the residential areas in the shortest possible time.

Later, the body was handed over to the heirs after autopsy.

Meanwhile, according to a Pesco spokesman, the owner of the house, Dr Aslam Jehangiri, had been warned through a notice in advance of the risks involved in carrying out construction below the 11kv supply line and asked to stop the work.

He said the owner ignored the warning and also violated the rules, which resulted in the killing of the labourer. He also hinted at taking action against the owner.

KILLED: Suleman Shah was killed and his brother Amin Shah injured when the roof of their house caved-in here on Thursday.