Action continues against power thieves

Body formed in Lahore to ensure registration of cases; K-Electric says its teams on high alert

FAISALABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI:

The countrywide crackdown against power theft on Friday continued for the second straight day.

In Lahore, the formation of a district enforcement committee, headed by the city’s deputy commissioner, was notified to take action against electricity pilferers.

As per the notification, the committee will ensure the registration of cases against electricity thieves.

It added that power connections would be immediately disconnected from places where electricity was stolen.

Police department will register cases against electricity thieves and report to the committee on the completion of their investigation within 14 days.

According to statement issued by the K-Electric, the power utility said its anti-theft teams were on high alert in Karachi throughout the clock.

It claimed that it had conducted more than 14,000 operations against power theft in Karachi this year.

The power utility added that this came to around an average of 1,800 operations per month.

The K-Electric maintained that during these operations, 94,000 illegal hook connections were removed weighing around 130,000 kilogrammes.

The Multan Electric Power Company has replaced 270 officers followed by the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company (Fesco) with 230.

According to a statement, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Composite Circle Sargodha arrested a Fesco official red-handed while taking bribe.

The suspect, Mushtaq Ahmed, was posted at the Fesco office in Sahiwal tehsil.

The action against Ahmed was carried out in the presence of a judicial magistrate.

The Fesco officer had taken Rs30,000 from a citizen for reducing their bill.

The money was recovered from his possession and a case filed against him.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, two power thieves were arrested in Peshawar and cases were registered against 40 of them in Mardan.

A total of 67 illegal power connections were disconnected in Balochistan.

In the federal capital, hundreds of illegal connections were cut off.