The Uttar Pradesh electricity department on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 1.91 crore on Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman Barq, for power theft. The move comes a day after police registered a case against the opposition MP for electricity theft.
The department has also cut the power supply to the MP’s residence. Uttar Pradesh police have also registered a case against the MP’s father Mamlukur Rehman Barq for allegedly threatening government officials while they visited the house in Deepa Sarai area for inspections.
Sambhal Superintending Engineer Vinod Kumar told PTI, "An electricity inspection drive is underway in Sambhal even today. A fine of Rs 1.91 crore has been imposed on the MP by the electricity department and the power supply to his residence has been disconnected.”
Police registered a case against the Sambhal MP on Thursday under section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003 for theft of electricity. According to police, an inspection team confirmed illegal power use and found evidence of electricity theft by bypassing the meter.
Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, Sambhal Superintendent of Police said during an inspection at the MP’s residence, Barq’s father allegedly abused department engineers V.K. Gangal and Ajay Kumar Sharma and obstructed government work. The SP said Barq allegedly told the engineer that "the dispensation will change and we will ruin you", PTI reported. The electricity department has also videographed the incident.
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Superintending Engineer Vinod Kumar said the MP's house had two connections of two kilowatts each – one in Zia Ur Rehman's name and another in his late grandfather's name. “Two days ago, smart meters were installed at the MP's residence and in the last six months, the metres showed zero unit consumption,” a power department official told PTI.
According to power department officials, when the premises were checked on Thursday, a 16.48 kilowatt load was found at Barq’s place. On sending the meters to the lab for tests, officials found both the meters were tampered with.
Barq is also facing charges for clashes that erupted in Sambhal on November 24 over surveying Shahi Jama Masjid. Barq is accused of instigating rioters.
