_______________________________________________________________________


New Delhi 17 January 2012

Press Release


‘Dressing Down’ and Clever Sleuthing ends the free ‘power’ reign for factory owner

Fined Rs 1.35 crore



‘Dressing down’ and some clever sleuthing by BYPL’ enforcement team members ended the reign of free ‘power’ for a Shahdara based factory owner. A copper wire factory was found to be stealing 135 KW’s of electricity by a BSES Yamuna Power Limited’s (BYPL) enforcement team. Based in East Delhi’s Shahdara (588/1820 Motiram Road), the factory owner (Shulu Pandit) has been imposed a penalty of Rs 1.35 crore as per the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003. If the accused does not pay within the stipulated timeframe, a case will be registered against him in the Special Court of Electricity.


The modus operandi deployed by the factory owner to steal electricity was unique. This had deceived the enforcement team in their previous attempts to detect power theft at the premises. Though the power was being stolen by way of hooking from a BSES line, it was being done very cleverly. The illegal wire was placed along-side the BSES cables, to give an impression that they weren’t electricity wires at all. Also the two meters found at the site were found disconnected.


Investigations revealed that the factory owner had stationed several informers around the premises. The minute they saw Police or BSES officials, they used to inform the owner, who used to pull-out the illegal wires. Through this practice, the owner was able to give the enforcement teams the slip on previous occasions.


Always suspecting power theft at the premises, BYPL’ enforcement team changed its strategy. Dressed as ordinary shoppers, enforcement team officials visited the area – notorious for unscrupulous elements attacking BYPL’ teams – without any accompanying Police personnel. As a result, the informers were not able to detect their presence and in-turn inform the owner. This helped the team catch the power –thief red handed. Subsequently, the Police were called.


Power thief sent to Tihar


In another case, for stealing electricity, a New Seelampur resident, Mohammed Ahmed has been remanded to Judicial Custody for 14 days by the Special Court of Electricity. He had been caught stealing 5.2 KW of electricity by a BSES enforcement team on February 25, 2011.


According to the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003, he had been levied a penalty of Rs 11.28 lakh. Since he did not pay the penalty, within the stipulated period of time, a case was filed in the Special Court of Electricity.

BRPL and BYPL, Delhi’s premier power distribution companies are committed to ensuring quality and reliable electricity supply to all their consumers.