Over the past three months, the Uttar Pradesh Police in Sambhal district have filed 1,250 FIRs related to electricity theft, resulting in fines totalling Rs 5.2 crore, officials reported on December 16. In the last two days alone, authorities registered 90 FIRs for electricity theft, including cases involving four mosques and one madrasa. The fines imposed during this period amounted to approximately Rs 1.75 crore.
Authorities in Sambhal have uncovered widespread electricity theft in mosques, madrasas, and residential areas, prompting a major crackdown. In a raid in the Nakhasa and Deepasrai areas of Sambhal Sadar, District Magistrate (DM) Dr Rajendra Pensia and Superintendent of Police (SP) discovered equipment used for illegal electricity connections at a mosque.
Following the operation, DM Dr Pensia emphasised that the campaign against electricity theft would continue, ensuring that no household would be able to steal electricity. He confirmed that about 150-200 homes had been found involved in electricity theft, including several mosques and madrasas. FIRs are being registered against those caught in the act, with plans for recovery of the stolen electricity charges.
The DM revealed that his visit was initially to inspect a loudspeaker, but he was shocked to discover illegal electricity connections on a large scale. “We checked 150-200 houses and 5-6 mosques in the area, and substantial evidence of electricity theft was found. We recovered large quantities of electric wires and other tools used for illegal connections at one of the mosques,” he said.
According to the police, an “illegal power house” was discovered on the top floor of one of the mosques in Sambhal, allegedly supplying electricity to over 100 houses in the area.
In another mosque, which had 59 fans, one fridge, and 30 light points, officials found that the power meter had been deliberately turned off. “During our drive to combat electricity theft, we uncovered multiple methods being used, some of which were new to us. We never imagined electricity could be stolen in this way,” said District Magistrate Dr Rajendra Pensia.
He added, “Some people are intentionally having their meters stolen to avoid paying bills. We also found instances of electricity theft through phase-change methods. In some cases, wires leading to meters were deliberately bifurcated.” Pensia further reported that nearly 4,000 wires were found cut on the ground during the operation.
To address the issue, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Electricity Department have ordered the installation of 20 kilometres of armed wire to prevent further theft. Pensia also mentioned that the administration is dealing with three major challenges simultaneously — encroachments, electricity theft, and noise pollution from loudspeakers.
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