Freeloaders: Plaza owner charged for stealing electricity
A case has been registered against Ahmed for power theft.
The plaza houses 13 residential flats and 10 shops, for which electricity bills have not been paid for a year. PHOTO: FILE.
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided a mixed-use plaza in the federal capital territory on Friday and charged its owner with power theft.
Sohail Ahmed, owner of Bismillah Plaza in Ashraf Town, Pindorian on the outskirts of Islamabad, was found guilty of stealing electricity for the past one year.
The plaza houses 13 residential flats and 10 shops, for which electricity bills have not been paid for a year. The theft is supposed to have defrauded IESCO of hundreds of thousands of rupees in electricity dues.
FIA’s Islamabad Crime Circle conducted the raid on the plaza and disconnected wires hooked to Iesco’s cables. A case has been registered against Ahmed for power theft.
Search raids are being conducted to arrest the accused but he remained at large till the filing of this report.
Power theft is considered a major factor in Pakistan’s severe power crisis. The theft of electricity prevents distribution companies from recovering the cost of electricity production and therefore adds to the country’s vicious circular debt.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2013.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided a mixed-use plaza in the federal capital territory on Friday and charged its owner with power theft.
Sohail Ahmed, owner of Bismillah Plaza in Ashraf Town, Pindorian on the outskirts of Islamabad, was found guilty of stealing electricity for the past one year.
The plaza houses 13 residential flats and 10 shops, for which electricity bills have not been paid for a year. The theft is supposed to have defrauded IESCO of hundreds of thousands of rupees in electricity dues.
FIA’s Islamabad Crime Circle conducted the raid on the plaza and disconnected wires hooked to Iesco’s cables. A case has been registered against Ahmed for power theft.
Search raids are being conducted to arrest the accused but he remained at large till the filing of this report.
Power theft is considered a major factor in Pakistan’s severe power crisis. The theft of electricity prevents distribution companies from recovering the cost of electricity production and therefore adds to the country’s vicious circular debt.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2013.