One year RI to a call centre owner for power theft

A special court has sentenced one year rigorous imprisonment to an owner of a call centre and also slapped with a penalty of Rs 25.5 lakh for the power theft.
The Special Court of Electricity in Dwarka found one Vipin Sharma guilty of theft of power and sentenced him to one year rigorous imprisonment, besides directing him to pay the penalty of Rs 25.5 lakh, which include a fine of Rs 14.75 lakh plus a civil liability of Rs 9.83 lakh, said a power discom BSES spokesperson.
Sharma was found indulging in direct theft of over 18 KW of electricity for running a mid-sized call centre at Mahavir Enclave in Palam Colony, the spokesperson said.

A switch-board was found on the call-centre premises but no electricity meter was installed there.
The accused was summoned for the offence of power theft under Electricity Act on the basis of pre-summoning evidence.
A copy of the complaint and documents were supplied to him and a notice was served to him under Section 251 CrPC to which he had pleaded not guilty and had claimed trial, he said.
Power theft is not only resulting in substantial revenue loss to the discoms, but is also increasing the number of trippings and local breakdowns. Efforts of discom enforcement teams to check the irregularities are thwarted by "organised gangs" on many occasions.

"There are areas in Najafgargh, Jaffarpur, Mundka, Nangloi, Seelampur, Nand Nagari, Yamuna Vihar, Karawal Nagar, and Shaheen Bagh where power theft continues to be a concern. It is also rampant in some unauthorised colonies," he added.