E-Paper
Punjab MLA abuses, threatens official over power theft FIR
After audio clip goes viral, Congress MLA shares a post on FB feeling apologetic for his language, but slams Punjab State Power Corporation Limited official for recording call
Harminder Singh Gill, Congress MLA from Patti assembly constituency in Tarn Taran, has courted yet another controversy after he abused and threatened a subdivisional officer (SDO) of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) over a phone call for allegedly getting a power theft case registered in Tung village.
The incident came to light after an audio clip of the conversation between the two was shared on social media. The exact date of the conversation could not be confirmed, but it took place after the case was registered on October 10.
While the SDO has gone incommunicado and made no complaint about the incident, the legislator issued a clarification on Facebook feeling apologetic for his language, though slamming the official for allegedly recording and sharing the conversation.
Even last year, the MLA’s purported audio clip had gone viral on social media after he allegedly threatened a station house officer in his constituency for not paying a “courtesy call” to him after taking charge of the police station.
The call
In the present case, the audio starts with Patti SDO Sushil Kumar greeting the MLA. The conversation soon turns heated as Gill points to the FIR, ignores the justification provided by the official and starts abusing him. The Congress leader also threatens to get police cases registered against Kumar besides getting him transferred to a location “where he will not even find water to drink”.
The MLA and SDO didn’t answer to repeated phone calls for a comment. However, Gill posted a clarification about the incident on his Facebook page, stating: “Officials should serve the people without any greed. The Punjab government has been waiving the pending electricity bills that are in crores, but some officials of the department have unnecessarily been imposing fines... What does Patti SDO want to prove by making my audio viral?”
A senior PSPCL official, privy to the development, said Patti subdivision has been facing 70% losses due to power thefts, the second highest in Punjab.
“On October 8, the SDO and his team went to Tung village to inspect the installation of a new transformer. In the meantime, they found that two houses had installed ‘kundis’ (illegal connections). When they removed these connections, the occupants and some farmers gheraoed the team and tried to take them captive. The officials, somehow, managed to flee,” said the official, who didn’t wish to be named.
Later, a case of power theft was registered against Palwinder Singh and his brother Dawinder Singh, and a fine of around ₹1 lakh was imposed on them.
