Kids pledged to raise money for fine

Unable to pay the hefty fine imposed by the UP Power Corporation for an illegal power connection in Bareilly district, 260 km from here, Sharif Ahmed reportedly pledged his three children to a wealthy businessman for a loan to pay the fine.

According to reports, Ahmed, who makes a living by manufacturing kites and earning barely enough to sustain, had illegally obtained a power connection through a cable, which was connected with the main power line.

His family had been enjoying free power supply for the past several months and used to bribe officials whenever they came to remove the unauthorised connection. Sharif, however, claimed he had applied for a proper power connection several months ago. But he ran out of luck when a raid was conducted by the department a few days ago, when officials not only cut off the power supply but also slapped a hefty fine of Rs 42,000 on Sharif.

Power theft being a cognisable offence, the officials could also have lodged a criminal case and got Shairf arrested besides levying the fine, reports said.

The family was too poor to raise the money for the fine, so it decided to pawn three of its children aged between 12 and 15 years to a wealthy businessman. The businessman agreed to give money on the condition that the children would work at his factory untill the loan, together with the interest, was repaid.

Around 16,000 cases of power theft were detected by the corporation during the raids earlier in the year, officials said, adding in many cases FIRs were also lodged. It also realised over Rs 350 crore by way of fines imposed on the offenders.