The Anti-Power Theft Squad of the Kerala State Electricity Board has unearthed 29 cases of power theft in the district since September 1 this year. Domestic consumers account for the most number of power theft cases detected by the squad.
“We’ve detected several cases of power theft being done by domestic consumers. But when it comes to the amount of money lost due to power theft, commercial users trump domestic consumers simply because of the sheer volume of power they use,” said an officer.
The squad recently detected power theft to the tune of Rs.72 lakh carried out using unauthorised extension of power line to a hostel near Arakkunnam. The hostel had been using power illegally for about two years.
Trouble for Excise officials
Officials of the Excise Department have had a busy two months here with strict controls on liquor. But a few officials had to face a different kind of challenge near Mattancherry here on Tuesday.
An irate man driving a car near the area allegedly overtook the vehicle of a few officials, pulled the key out of their vehicle, broke one of the windows, and assaulted the officers. An officer later said that the man had been drunk and got into a row with the officers who reportedly overtook his vehicle.
Fake news goes viral
The Facebook feeds of many Kochiites were flooded with posts last week about a young woman IPS trainee, who some claimed was posted as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Kochi.
The rumours began after a Kochi news page posted a picture of the woman with the question, “How many likes for the new ACP of Kochi?”
In no time, the post, accompanied by the woman’s picture, went viral and people lost no time in posting hundreds of comments on the woman’s personal Facebook page.
While many congratulated the woman on her achievements, there was no dearth of sexist comments.
Faced with a barrage of ‘likes’ and comments, the trainee officer had no option but to use the same medium to inform the public that she had not been posted to Kochi and was still undergoing training.