# Cables left in place killed a boy and his grandfather in Bačka Palanka Category: Victims of negligence Period: from 22 Jul 2023 Outcome: Under investigation (as of 15 Aug 2023) After storms in July 2023 in Bačka Palanka, a grandfather and his thirteen-year-old grandson were killed by live cables that nobody had removed, even though, according to RTS, the fault had been reported 27 times. When a journalist asked him how many such cables were still out there, the municipal president Branislav Šušnica shouted at her, and a worker who protested was fired. Electricity Distribution of Serbia suspended two dispatchers and filed a criminal complaint, on the basis of which one person was questioned; the outcome is not known, and Šušnica remained in office. ## Two deaths from the same cables A sixty-six-year-old local man was killed on 22 July 2023 while trying to move a live cable brought down by the storm out of his yard. His grandson, a thirteen-year-old boy, was killed on 31 July in Dositejeva Street by a cable that was still hanging from a utility pole. According to RTS, a neighbour had reported the fault to the electricity distributor as early as 19 July, and the case was reported another 27 times after that, but nobody removed the cables before the tragedy. On 4 August the family asked people to stop the protests and to stop mentioning them. ## Whose cables they were Elektrodistribucija Srbije said that, alongside its own network, the site also carries public lighting belonging to a local utility company. According to the news site BAP vesti, street lighting is the responsibility of the public enterprise “Standard”, whose employees are also members of the municipal Emergency Situations Headquarters. The Ombudsman opened an inquiry. The municipality told him that the cable most likely belonged to the public lighting and that it had not received a single report from residents; the outcome of the inquiry has not been published. ## Shouted at a journalist On 2 August, BAP vesti journalist Dragana Jovičić Bujak asked Branislav Šušnica, the municipal president and commander of the Emergency Situations Headquarters, how many more unsecured live cables there were. He accused the outlet of seeking popularity from a child's death, shouted “You should be ashamed of yourselves” and said the question should be put to “Elektrovojvodina”. The Journalists' Association of Serbia demanded that he apologise, and NUNS sent him a guide on how politicians should behave towards journalists. ## Protest worker fired Željko Pejčić, a worker at the utility company “Komunalprojekt”, was fired the day after he took part in the first protest; by his account, he was told he was dismissed because of the protest. When the media reported it, he was asked to come back, but he did not return. He says he had to be a member of the SNS to work at the company and that local officials threatened protesters' families with dismissal. ## Protests and calls for resignations For days, residents protested in front of the municipal building, demanding the resignations of Šušnica and members of the emergency management headquarters. The deadline they set, 11 August, passed without a response, and they found not a single official in the municipal building. The day before, they had signed a criminal complaint for causing general danger, addressed to the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad. Šušnica spoke up only on 15 August, with a statement saying that all resources had been deployed on repairs. At a protest on 9 September, residents who had examined the minutes claimed that the headquarters had had a quorum only once in its first ten sessions. ## Dispatchers and criminal complaints A commission of Electricity Distribution of Serbia suspended two dispatchers at the Bačka Palanka branch, filed a criminal complaint against them and dismissed the branch manager. According to N1, one dispatcher has been questioned. He says he has been treated unjustly, because about ten workers could not keep up with repairing the damage across 800 kilometres of network, and his lawyer says the municipality's mayor has not been questioned. The outcome of neither complaint is known. According to the BAP vesti portal, three years later residents have still not received an answer from the local authorities. ## Participants - [Branislav Šušnica](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/branislav-susnica): As commander of the Emergency Management Headquarters, he shouted at a journalist who asked him about live cables that had not been removed (responsible) - [Electricity Distribution of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/elektrodistribucija-srbije): The cable fault was reported to it 27 times, but no one removed the cables before the boy was killed (responsible) - [Public enterprise “Standard” Bačka Palanka](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/jp-standard-backa-palanka): It is responsible for the street lighting whose unsecured cables had still not been removed 12 days after the storm (responsible) - [Public utility company “Komunalprojekt” Bačka Palanka](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/jkp-komunalprojekt): It fired worker Željko Pejčić the day after he took part in a protest over the boy's death (responsible) - [Zoran Pašalić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/zoran-pasalic): He opened an inquiry into the boy's death; the municipality replied that it had not received a single report (oversight and the public) - [Journalists' Association of Serbia](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/uns): It protested over Šušnica's exchange with the journalist and demanded that he apologise to her (oversight and the public) - [Independent Journalists' Association of Serbia (NUNS)](https://odgovornost.rs/en/organizacije/nuns): It sent Šušnica a guide on how to treat journalists because he verbally attacked a journalist (oversight and the public) ## Victims and others harmed - [Željko Pejčić](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/zeljko-pejcic) - [Dragana Jovičić Bujak](https://odgovornost.rs/en/osobe/dragana-jovicic-bujak) ## Sources - [021.rs: Who is the SNS member from Bačka Palanka who shouted at a journalist?](): 3 Aug 2023 - [RTS: Grandfather and grandson in Bačka Palanka electrocuted days apart, cable problem reported 27 times](): 2 Aug 2023 - [BAP vesti: Šušnica lashes out at media over question about cables left in place (VIDEO)](): 2 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Grandfather and grandson killed by electric shock days apart; fault reported 27 times](): 2 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Zajedno and SDS demand the dismissal of the Mayor of Bačka Palanka and that he be held accountable](): 3 Aug 2023 - [N1: NUNS sends "Guide to Tolerant Behaviour" to the Mayor of Bačka Palanka](): 3 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: PHOTOS: Protest in Bačka Palanka over boy's death and mayor's attack on journalist](): 2 Aug 2023 - [N1: (VIDEO) Fired after attending protest over boy's death in Bačka Palanka](): 3 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Worker fired over protest invited back to work: "We are losing children, they should be ashamed"](): 3 Aug 2023 - [N1: Young man fired in Bačka Palanka: I had to join the SNS to have a job](): 9 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Ombudsman: Inspection over boy's death in Palanka; municipality says it never received a fault report](): 4 Aug 2023 - [RTS: Bačka Palanka residents protest over child's death by electrocution, demand those responsible be held accountable](): 3 Aug 2023 - [Beta: EDS: Authorities investigating how boy was electrocuted by unprotected cable in Bačka Palanka](): 3 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Elektrodistribucija: Dismissals and criminal complaints over failures in Bačka Palanka](): 3 Aug 2023 - [BAP vesti: What were the priorities in clearing up after the storm?!](): 4 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Bačka Palanka residents keep up the fight: Protest and criminal complaint to the prosecutor in Novi Sad](): 10 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: PHOTOS: Another protest held in Bačka Palanka, blockade of the municipality announced](): 11 Aug 2023 - [BAP vesti: No answer from the authorities by the deadline! (VIDEO)](): 11 Aug 2023 - [N1: A worker and dispatchers as easy targets: So far, they alone bear the blame for Palanka](): 15 Aug 2023 - [N1: Bačka Palanka mayor addressed citizens after two weeks](): 15 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Family of boy killed in Bačka Palanka: Many people are using our grief for their own gain](): 4 Aug 2023 - [021.rs: Željko Pejčić: They are visiting people who take part in the protests in Bačka Palanka, blackmailing and threatening them](): 16 Aug 2023 - [BAP vesti: 14th protest – "Šušnica, and most of the others, mostly did not even attend the Headquarters' sessions"](): 9 Sep 2023 - [BAP vesti: Three years since the storm Bačka Palanka will never forget](): 19 Jul 2026 --- Source: Odgovornost, https://odgovornost.rs/en/afere/backa-palanka-kablovi As of: 5 Nov 2026 Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)