A day after raids were conducted to check irregularities in electricity distribution in two localities in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, “theft” of Rs 1.3 crore has been detected from four mosques and a madrassa in the area, the district administration said on Sunday.
A mosque and a madrassa are nearby “The Ancient Temple” which has been reopened by the authorities after nearly 50 years. It is said that the district administration ransacked the temple in the campaign against electricity theft.
District Magistrate Rajendra Pensia of Sambhal claimed to have seen the theft of electricity in the area while checking loudspeakers at 5 am on Saturday morning.
A joint team comprising police, district administration and Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation officials conducted two raids in Sambhal’s Deepa Sarai and Nai Sarai areas to check incidents of power theft.
“Each year, about 300 million rupees worth of electricity is being supplied to Sambhal Municipal Corporation. The line loss is an astonishing 72%. The heaviest damage is happening in areas like Deepa Sarai and Mia Sarai (close to 85%),” said an official requesting anonymity.
Pansy explained The Indian Express Since September, 1,250 FIRs related to electricity theft have been registered in the region.
According to the police, an “illegal power house” was also found on the top floor of a mosque. It is said that the power house has supplied electricity to more than 100 houses in that area.
In another mosque, electricity meters containing 59 fans, one refrigerator and 30 light points were allegedly turned off. “In our campaign to stop electricity theft, we have found that people use five to six methods… Some of these methods are new to us. We did not know that electricity could be stolen in this way,” Pensia said.
He added: “People are deliberately stealing their meters and not paying their bills. They are also using phase change method to steal electricity. We have found instances where the wires leading to the meter are also split. “
Pensia informed that around 4,000 wires were cut on the ground during the operation.
‘To prevent theft, the electricity department and the UP government have ordered to lay 20 km of armored wire,’ he said, ‘Now the administration is facing three problems simultaneously: encroachment, electricity theft and noise from loudspeakers.
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