An early morning raid to check power theft incidents in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal has revealed gross irregularities in electricity distribution in two localities, leading to a revenue loss of crores to the government, officials said. An illegal power house was found functioning on the top floor of a mosque, providing electricity to over 100 houses, and four mosques, a madrasa and 15-20 houses were found to have illegal power connections, the police said after the raid. The raids were held in the Deepa Sarai and Nai Sarai localities by a joint team comprising officials from the police, the Sambhal district administration and the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL). The raids began at around 5 am and continued for two hours. “The unauthorised power consumers will face legal consequences after being booked for power theft. Directives have been given to local power department officials to find out if the mosque committee members were charging money for the illegal electricity supply. They will face the Gangster Act if it is revealed that they were charging money,” Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, Superintendent of Police (SP), Sambhal, said. “We estimate that revenue worth crores has been lost owing to large-scale illegal electricity connections. One mosque had 59 fans, one fridge and 30 light points while the power meter was shut down there,” Bishnoi added. Naveen Gautam, UPPCL Executive Engineer, Sambhal, said they had tried to raid these locations but had to give up following protests. “We faced protests from locals and at times violence too. We had to save our lives on occasions,” Gautam said. Notice served to Samajwadi Party MP Zia Ur Rehman Birk Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Zia Ur Rehman Birk, who stays in one of the localities raided on Saturday, was served a notice four days ago for allegedly violating rules in the construction of a house in Deepa Sarai. Birk was booked by the police for his alleged role in the violence that broke out in Sambhal last month following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. “We have given one month to the MP. If we do not get a satisfactory reply for the violation of rules, his new house will be bulldozed,” Rajendra Pensiya, District Magistrate, Sambhal, said. “The plot on which the new house is being built is not registered in the MP’s name. The plot belonged to his grandfather and hence the notice should have been served to me legally. I have got no notice so far,” Mamluk Ur Rehman Birk, Birk’s father, said.
