Two persons accused of stealing electricity in separate incidents have been sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment by Special Courts of Electricity.
Mohammad Arif, a resident of Sarita Vihar in South Delhi, and Radhey Shyam Giri, a factory owner in East Delhi, have been convicted by Special Courts of Electricity, Saket and Karkardooma respectively for power theft and sentenced to two-years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) each.
In addition, Arif has been penalised Rs 2.9 lakh and a further imprisonment of six months in case he defaults on paying the fine, while Giri has been imposed a civil liability of Rs 10.2 lakh.
While awarding the sentence to Arif, the order of the Saket Special Court of Electricity observed, "...This is an economic offence wherein the society as a whole is the victim and the honest payer of electricity charges are the sufferers on account of the proved conduct of the convict. Such convict is getting unearned benefit at the costs of others and as such, he deserves no leniency."
In January 2012, an inspection carried at the house of Arif uncovered power-theft of 9.5 KW for domestic purposes. The stolen electricity was being stolen by hooking from a BSES electricity pole.
According to the regulations, a penalty of Rs 1.21 lakh was imposed on the Arif. When Arif did not pay the same within the stipulated time-frame, a case was filed. The accused had pleaded not-guilty and claimed trial.
In the second case, during an inspection in 2006 by the Enforcement Team of BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL), Giri and his son were found to stealing electricity for running their industrial unit in East Delhi.
An FIR was registered at the Nand Nagri Police Station. Both the accused were arrested and remanded to custody. A power theft bill of Rs 12.76 lakh was imposed on the duo. When they did not pay-up, a case was filed in the Special Court of Electricity. They were subsequently released on bail.
During the course of the trial, Giri's son Ajay alias Bunty was declared as a proclaimed offender.
