Red-handed: Man fined for stealing electricity during Khanpur festival

Tourism corporation denies claims that the accused is their employee.

HARIPUR: The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) fined a man for allegedly stealing electricity during the Khanpur festival. The media manager of Tourism Corporation Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (TCKP) denied the accused was a TCKP official, insisting he was the owner of a private stall.

TCKP had organised the annual Khanpur festival at Khanpur Lake from February 21 to 23. On Sunday afternoon, Pesco authorities found an illegal electricity connection installed near one of the stalls.

Talking to the media, Pesco’s Khanpur Subdivision Line Superintendent Hafeez Ahmed confirmed the incident, adding the “official” has agreed to pay the fine. He alleged since the organisers had been using illegal power connections for three days, the fine has amounted to Rs20,000.

Ahmed maintained TCKP officials have held their electrician responsible for the offence.

When contacted, TCKP’s media manager Zahra Alam denied the accused was TCKP’s employee and said he was a private stall owner.

She said it was deplorable that the incident had brought a bad name to the organisers, who had nothing to do with the power theft. She added an FIR has been lodged against the accused at Khanpur police station.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2014.