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New Delhi August 20 2009

Press Release

Special Court sends successful Businessman and a two-time power thief to Tihar

· Successful businessman Kalu Pandit aka Prem Prakash Sharma sent to Tihar for power stealing power

· Accused caught stealing power twice in six months – cumulatively fined around Rs 3 cr

(i) 1^st time - 141 KW in January 2009- fined Rs 1.41 crore

(ii) 2^nd time - 127 KW in June 2009 - fined Rs 1.27

· Power was being stolen by way of Direct Theft

· Since July 2002, BSES’ crackdown on power theft has seen 1.30 lakh cases booked, over 8.25 lakh KW power theft load unearthed and over 600 people sent to Jail

Kalu Pandit aka Prem Prakash Sharma, running an anodizing factory and a dying unit is a successful businessman. Having been caught twice in less than a year, he is also a habitual power thief. Due to his power exploits, he owes BSES almost Rs 3 crore in penalties. Recently, he was remanded to judicial custody by the Special Court of Electricity, Patparganj for stealing power.

A BSES Enforcement team, accompanied by CISF and the Delhi Police personnel, caught the accused indulging in Direct Theft (DT) of electricity, for the first time in January 2009. The stolen electricity – a whopping 141 KW – was being stolen by tapping into the nearby LV Mains – bypassing the meter at site. The stolen electricity was used for both Industrial (137.2 KW) and Domestic (3.9 KW) purposes at his premises A-8, Gali No 1, North Ghonda, Yamuna Vihar purposes. According to the DERC guidelines, a penalty of Rs 1.48 crore was imposed on the accused. When the accused did not pay the penalty within the stipulated timeline, a FIR was registered against him.

In June 2009, the accused was caught stealing electricity for the second time. This time – the entire 127 KW of stolen load – was being used for industrial purposes. But this time, unlike the first time in January, there was no meter at site. This time too, the customer was indulging in Direct Theft of electricity. Again according to the DERC guidelines, a penalty of Rs 1.38 crore was imposed.

When the accused did no pay the penalty amount within the stipulated timeframe, BSES once gain lodged a FIR against him. After conducting their investigation, the Police arrested the accused and produced him before the Special Court of electricity. After hearing the arguments and in the light of the evidence presented by BSES, he was remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.

According to a BSES spokesperson, “BSES’ crackdown on power theft in the last 7 years has seen over 1.30 lakh cased being booked, over 8.25 lakh KW of power load unearthed and over 600 people sent to Jail”

BSES, Delhi’s premier power distribution company, is committed to ensuring quality and reliable electricity supply to all its consumers.

For further information please contact:

Prashant Dua	Chandra P Kamat
Corporate Communications	Corporate Communications
39999870 / 9312007822	39999642/9350130304