FIR lodged against SP's Sambhal MP Ziaur Rehman Barq for power theft

The Samajwadi Party's Sambhal MP Ziaur Rehman Barq was booked by the Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday for alleged theft of electricity at his residence in the Deepa Sarai neighbourhood here.

The parliamentarian was booked under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003, (theft of power or unauthorised use of electricity).

"On checking the meter of the consumer received from the electrical testing laboratory, it is clear that electricity theft has been done by bypassing the meter and using electricity illegally," stated the FIR lodged on a complaint by a power department official.

The department inspected the Sambhal MP's residence on Thursday morning amid heavy security.

Barq is among those booked by the police in connection with the November 24 violence that led to the death of four locals in a clash with security personnel during a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in the city's Kot Garvi area.

He has filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court, seeking a stay on his arrest and has also sought the quashing of the FIR registered against him. The MP has been accused of instigating people on November 24 and police alleged that his provocative speech was the reason behind the violence during the survey.

In the writ petition, the MP has pleaded innocence, saying he was wrongly implicated in the matter. According to his counsel, he was not present at the place of the incident, yet he was named as accused in the FIR.