Power crisis: FIA crackdown in province to curb line losses

WAPDA official arrested for facilitating electricity theft.

PESHAWAR:

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a crackdown in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday and arrested a Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) official involved in providing illegal electricity in DI Khan.

FIA DI Khan Assistant Director Malik Tariq told The Express Tribune they received information about a Wapda official providing illegal connections from Daraban Grid Station.

Tariq added he along with his team raided the grid station and found that a petrol pump, hotel and multiple shops were being provided electricity directly from the station.



FIA officials arrested Irfan Khan, the sub operating officer of the grid station, who was involved in the illegal practice and was accepting bribes from the owners of these facilities. “Irfan confessed he had been providing illegal connections for over a year,” Tariq said.

The accused Wapda official was taken into custody for a one-day judicial remand. “We expect he will reveal names of other officials involved in such practices,” Tariq added.

The FIA also arrested the owners of the petrol pump, hotel and shops and recovered over a thousand yards of power cables along with two fake electricity metres.

Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif had directed the formation of a special FIA task force in all provinces to take action against illegal connections and arrest culprits in order to overcome the power crisis and reduce line losses.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2013.