The first major analysis of people caught, convicted and jailed for power theft in the jurisdiction of discom BSES has revealed that people from across the economic spectrum have been involved in this crime.
An analysis done by the discom in the 18-month period from January 1, 2013, revealed that during this time 84 persons were convicted for power thefts and of them 45 got jail. Together, these persons were also penalised with a sum of Rs.5.6 crore.
Among those caught for power theft were industrialists, businessmen, owners of a bottling plant and a godown as also people with a lesser economic background and those making a living as tailors and shopkeepers. The convicted included both landlords and tenants.
Of those jailed, 38 were awarded rigorous imprisonment by the courts while seven were given simple imprisonment (SI).
The jail terms varied from five months to three years and the penalty amount ranged from Rs.5,000 to over Rs.1 crore (in the case of an industrialist).
The discom said these persons were convicted by the Special Courts of Electricity in Dwarka, Saket and Karkardooma.
Apart from the 45 who were jailed, the BSES said 18 power theft accused had been sentenced till ‘Rising of the Court’ and 13 had been awarded conditional SI, in case they defaulted in paying their fines.
Most of those convicted – 78 to be precise -- were found stealing electricity by way of direct theft (DT) while five were caught stealing by way of meter tampering and one for stealing electricity material. Moreover, there is almost an equal split between domestic (28), commercial (29) and industrial (27) cases.
A majority of the convictions, 39, were reported from the West Delhi, followed by 27 from the South and 17 from the East and the Central.
Commenting on the quantum of the problem, a BSES spokesperson said: “Power theft is a social menace, which impacts the honest consumers.”
The discom has urged the people to report thefts at 399 99 707 (BRPL) and 399 99 808 (BYPL) and assured that the identity of the callers would be kept confidential.
