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Metre Rigging Case: Power consumers, middlemen & gang members under STF lens
AK Sharma, state energy minister, has sought a report from the chairman of the Power Corporation on rigging of meters and slowing them down
LUCKNOW The Special Task Force (STF) investigating the metre rigging case in Uttar Pradesh has disclosed that 50% of the 578 “tampered” power metres seized by the agency were not working. These metres were allegedly tampered with by a gang involved in such operations.
The STF has sent details of some of the consumers who were allegedly saving on power bills with faulty metres to Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL). In Lucknow alone, 32 such power consumers have been identified.
According to UPPCL officials, the errant consumers will be traced by Monday or Tuesday. Subsequently, the local engineer along with the police enforcement team will reach the consumer’s house for proper inquiry. If found guilty, legal action would be taken. The team will try to extract information about middlemen and the gang members who approached them in the first place.
The development comes in the wake of the STF arresting Ali Umar, a resident of Mohibullapur Madiaon; Arjun Prasad, a resident Priyadarshini Colony, Sitapur Road, Madiaon; Sonu Pal, a resident of LDA Colony, Kanpur Road; Satish Sharma, a resident of Saripura Kanakcity, Alamnagar; and Raman Gautam, a resident of Sandana Sitapur. During the raid, STF found remotes at Sonu Pal’s house. At the same time, meters were recovered from the houses of Ali Umar and Arjun Prasad. The seized equipment were sent to labs for tests.
Meanwhile, AK Sharma, state energy minister, has sought a report from the chairman of the Power Corporation on rigging of meters and slowing them down. The minister has also said that this whole racquet is not possible without the connivance of departmental people. He has directed UPPCL officials to expose the employees involved in the alleged crime.
