Discom staff to go on protest, gear up for Black Tuesday
To protest a brutal attack on their colleagues and police inability in arresting the culprits, thousands of discom employees have threatened to stage a massive agitation next Tuesday.
To protest a brutal attack on their colleagues and police inability in arresting the culprits, thousands of discom employees have threatened to stage a massive agitation next Tuesday. As a result, it is feared that the electricity distribution system in Gurgaon might cripple and residents could face a blackout.
Villagers of Nathupur had assaulted two junior engineers Manmohan Singh and Suresh Kumar on August 8 and held them hostage for over two hours when the duo had gone to check power pilferage in the area. The accused had also attempted to burn the officials alive during the raid.
Workers' associations of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN) have given an ultimatum to the Gurgaon police to arrest the accused by Monday, failing which they would take their protest to the streets. The employees have decided to march to the police commissioner's office at Civil Lines.
"At the time of the protest, if a transformer bursts or if there is any kind of problem in power supply, it won't be rectified on the same day," said Mukesh Biyana, president of Haryana State Electricity Board Workers' Union, Gurgaon.
On Thursday and Friday too, discom employees had suspended work for two hours between 9am and 11am in the DLF sub-division area but there were no complaints of snags.
A group of about 25 villagers had assaulted two DHBVN officials last week. Around 15 vigilance officers and police personnel accompanying them had fled the scene after villagers launched an attack.
Singh and Kumar were critically injured and had to be rushed to a nearby government hospital. "The villagers snatched the engineers' cameras and mobile phones, not allowing them to contact the electricity board. They also destroyed the reports that had proof of electricity theft," added Biyana.
He narrated the sequence of events. "Accusing the officials of theft, the villagers also asked for kerosene, threatening to burn them alive. They told the police that they had beaten up a few thieves who had entered the village. Vigilance officials and policemen left the engineers and fled the spot," said Biyana.
The officials have identified five villagers but no arrests have been made yet. "The police said they could not arrest anyone as they are absconding. We identified five persons and they are all roaming around freely in the village," added Biyana.
According to DLF Phase-2 police, the accused have been booked and raids are on to arrest them.