Three separate cases of power theft reported from various parts of the city were presented before the Special Courts of Electricity in Saket. The accused in these cases have been awarded three months’ imprisonment each and fines of over ₹13 lakh.
The Capital, in fact, has been witnessing several such cases in the last one month. The soaring temperatures are believed to be a reason behind the spike.
Tailoring unit owner held
The three cases involved the owners of a tailoring unit, a de-silting firm, and three residents of Central Delhi.
In the first case, accused Khursheed Begum, who owns a tailoring unit in Okhla’s Abul Fazal Enclave, was found to be stealing power. When BSES — one of the two discoms operating in Delhi — inspected the matter, they found that over 17KW of power was being stolen. Of this, 10KW was being used for commercial activities, while 7KW was being used for domestic purposes.
As many as 18 motorised sewing machines were found on the first floor of the building, while an eatery was found functioning on the ground floor.
The court awarded Begum three months’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ₹13.2 lakh.
De-silting firm involved
In another case, Rajesh Kumar and Kishore Kumar, owners of a de-silting firm in Nizamuddin, were found guilty of stealing 29KW power.
“This is an economic offence wherein the society as a whole is the victim, and the honest payers of electricity charges are the sufferers on account of the proved conduct of the convicts. Such convicts are getting unearned benefit at the costs of others,” said Additional Sessions Judge Neelam Singh.
Three residents accused
Among the other accused were 70-year-old Amarjeet Singh, a resident of Tilak Bazaar. Two other Central Delhi residents, too, have been sent to jail.
