MSEDCL technician in Baramati brutally hacked to death over complaint of a Rs 570 power bill

At the time of the incident, Thite, who had reported to duty on Wednesday after a 10 day leave, was alone in the MSEDCL office while her technician colleague was working in a separate block of the office a few metres away.

“Probe suggests that the assailant had a complaint about his power bill. He used a sharp sickle to attack Thite multiple times. The assailant was arrested sometime after the incident.” said Pankaj Deshmukh, Superintendent of Police of Pune Rural jurisdiction. Additional Superintendent of Police (Baramati Division) Sanjay Jadhav said, “The attacker inflicted more than 10 injuries on the victim with the sharp sickle that he was carrying. He fled the scene after the attack.” Officials said that Thite sustained injuries to various parts of her body including vital organs.

Inspector Nagnath Patil, in-charge of the Supa Police station said, “Thite was alone in the office at the time. As the suspect was attacking the victim, her colleague technician who was in a neighbouring office block, came running on hearing screams. He saw the suspect striking the victim with blows using a sickle. But before he could react, the suspect fled the scene on his bike. Thite’s colleague had by then made calls to other officers and police were also informed. Our team reached the spot and Thite had been rushed to a local private hospital.”

“At the hospital, while she was being treated, we spoke to her. She told us that the suspect had come to the office earlier too complaining about the bill. Based on the information given by her and some clues obtained from other staffers at the office, we zeroed in on the suspect and arrested him from his house in Morgaon. We have also recovered the murder weapon,” Inspector Patil added.

Officials said that as her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to a multispeciality hospital in Pune for advanced care. Thite breathed her last late afternoon on Wednesday. Pote, who was initially booked with attempted murder was charged with murder. “He is currently unemployed and is unmarried. We are gathering more information about him and if there are any criminal antecedents.” said an officer.

MSEDCL officials said that Thite had joined the power utility in 2013 and is survived by her husband and two children. “The bill generated in April was for Rs 570 for the consumption of 63 units. The usage of this meter for the last 12 months is in the range of 40 to 70 units. There is primary facie no issue in the billing. He had not given any written or online complaint in the past.” said an MSEDCL officer.