Out to check power theft, officials held captive by villagers

Tribune News Service
Sangrur, September 14

Residents of Nagra village led by the BKU-Ugrahan kept a team of the Punjab State power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in illegal detention for around four hours on Friday evening. The PSPCL team had gone to the village to detect power theft while villagers allege that the team members misbehaved with them.

“The PSPCL officials have been harassing area residents on the pretext of checking power theft. Last evening, they again misbehaved with Nagra village residents and disconnected power supply to two houses. We will not allow harassment to farmers, who are already under huge debts and committing suicides,” said Manjit Gharachon, vice-president of BKU-Ugrahan, Bhawanigarh block.

However, senior authorities of the PSPCL alleged that after their officials detected two power thefts, the villagers got infuriated and gheraoed them.

“Our team detected two thefts of power with tampered meters and disconnected supply to two houses. But the villagers gheraoed our officials and kept them in illegal detention for four hours. Later, the Bhawanigarh police rescued them. We have written to the police for registration of an FIR against villagers,” said Basant Jindal, Deputy Chief Engineer, Sangrur. Bhawanigarh SHO Gurinder Singh Ball did not attend his phone.