Badal orders probe into power theft by SDM complex building

A day after Hindustan Times highlighted the matter of open power theft — use of ‘kundi’ connection — for over a year by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) complex building at Dera Baba Nanak, the Punjab government on Saturday ordered a time-bound probe into this.

A day after Hindustan Times highlighted the matter of open power theft — use of ‘kundi’ connection — for over a year by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) complex building at Dera Baba Nanak, the Punjab government on Saturday ordered a time-bound probe into this.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday directed Gurdaspur deputy commissioner Abhinav Trikha to “hold a time-bound and exhaustive inquiry into the sequence of events leading to the officers resorting to pilferage of power”.

The CM, in a press release, said: “Rules and regulations are same for every citizen of the state, be it a common man or a highly placed officer.”

He asked the DC to submit the inquiry report at the earliest so that stern action could be taken against the officers involved in the offence.

The CM further said such acts of violation or negligence on the part of any public servant while discharging their official duties would never be tolerated at any cost and such delinquent officers deserved “severest of serve” punishment as deterrent for other such erring officials in the future.

On Friday, HT had highlighted how the complex — having offices of SDM, tehsildar, naib tehsildar and suvidha centre — was being run on illegal kundi connections, resulting loss of crores of rupees to the Powwercom.