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Ludhiana: Six booked for creating ruckus at power grid, assaulting PSPCL staff
Several unidentified persons also booked after villagers entered the grid premises, assaulted employees and damaged property
komal.kumari@hindustantimes.com
Police on Wednesday booked six identified persons and several unidentified men for allegedly barging into the 220-kV Gausgarh power grid in Sahnewal, assaulting Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) employees, obstructing them from discharging official duties and damaging government property during a protest over scheduled electricity outage.
An FIR was registered at Meharban police station on the complaint of PSPCL officials, with police launching raids to apprehend the accused.
The case pertains to an incident on the night of June 29, when a group of villagers allegedly forced their way into the high-voltage grid after power supply to certain agricultural feeders was temporarily curtailed as part of PSPCL’s load-management exercise to cope with soaring electricity demand during the ongoing paddy transplantation season.
According to the complaint, the protesters broke open the main gate of the grid, entered the premises and confronted employees on night duty.
Assistant helper Hirde Ram Yadav allegedly faced verbal abuse, pushing and physical assault while carrying out his official responsibilities.
The employees further alleged that when Yadav attempted to record the incident on his mobile phone, members of the crowd snatched the device and deleted the video before leaving the premises.
Assistant sub-inspector Sanjeev Kumar, the investigating officer, said police teams had launched raids at multiple locations to trace and arrest the accused.
“Teams are conducting raids at two to three locations to arrest the remaining accused. Action will be taken against everyone found involved in the incident as soon as they are apprehended,” he said.
Executive engineer (XEN), Sundar Nagar Division, Jagmohan Singh, who lodged the complaint, said the employees had merely implemented directions issued by higher authorities as part of scheduled load management necessitated by the prevailing power shortage. “Our staff was performing its official duty and implementing scheduled load-management directions issued from higher authorities. Instead of understanding the situation, a group of people entered the grid premises, manhandled employees and disrupted government work. Such incidents demoralise field staff working under extremely difficult conditions,” he said.
Meanwhile, PSPCL employee unions criticised the pace of the investigation, alleging that although two suspects were detained on Tuesday, they were subsequently released. The unions also claimed that several persons visible in video footage of the incident were yet to be identified in the case.
Leaders of the PSEB Employees Federation (AITUC) demanded that all those involved be identified through the available video evidence and arrested without delay. They warned of reviving their protest outside Meharban police station if prompt action was not taken.
