‘Ilegal’ stairs outside Sambhal MP Ziaur Rahman Barq’s house demolished

“We are working within the framework of the law as a campaign is going on in Sambhal against encroachment and power theft and illegal electricity connections,” Mishra added.

This is the fifth major action against Barq in the last 24 hours.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) imposed a fine of Rs 1.91 crore on him after booking him for alleged electricity theft, cut the power supply to his residence, and lodged a case against his father for allegedly threatening its employees during a raid on Thursday.

“The fine was imposed after it was detected that more than 16 KW units were being used at his residence against the sanctioned strength of 4 KW capacity meters. We have put up a smart meter in place of the existing ones which detected the power theft. The existing meters had shown a zero unit reading for the last six months,” said Vinod Kumar Gupta, Assistant Engineer, UPPCL, Sambhal.

Barq has already been booked by the Sambhal police for allegedly instigating a crowd through his provocative speech ahead of the violence near Shahi Jama Masjid on November 24 in which five people were killed. Sources said that he has moved an application in the Allahabad High Court praying for a stay on his possible arrest and the plea is likely to be taken up on Friday.

The FIR against Barq’s father Mamluk Ur Rahman Barq was lodged at Nakhasa police station under sections 224 (threat to public servant) and 223 (punishment for disobeying orders given by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) by UPPCL Sub-Divisional Officer Santosh Tripathi on Thursday evening.

“The MP’s father had tried to stop us when we were trying to see how electricity was being stolen at his residence. He said ‘You people will be ruined if the SP government comes to power. Your activities are being recorded in the CCTV cameras. Each one of you will face consequences with the change of government (in the state)’,” said B K Gangal, Junior Engineer, UPPCL.

Mamluk Ur Rahman Barq alleged the police and UPPCL employees were “misbehaving” during the raid. “Government officers are trying to provoke people to vitiate the law and order situation…All this is being done to defame the MP and his party. People are being subjected to injustice and we will not tolerate it at any cost,” he alleged.

Barq’s lawyer Qasim Jamal claimed power was being supplied at the MP’s residence through a 10 KW solar panel and 5 KW generator. “The FIR and fine have no legal ground and we will challenge both in court,” he said.