'Bring transformer yourself': Junior engineer tells Uttar Pradesh minister amid power outage; suspended

Sitapur: Uttar Pradesh Minister Suresh Rahi personally carried a faulty electrical transformer to a local power station after a junior engineer allegedly misbehaved with him over a phone call regarding an outage in Sitapur district on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Koriya Udnapur village in the Hargaon area, which had been without electricity for the last 24 hours. When the minister contacted Junior Engineer (JE) Ramesh Mishra to inquire about replacing the damaged transformer, the official allegedly responded rudely and asked Rahi to "bring the transformer himself."

Angered by the response, the Minister of State for Prisons reached the village, loaded the transformer into his vehicle, and transported it to the Hussainganj powerhouse, where he personally deposited it.

Calling the JE "incompetent," Rahi accused him of neglecting public grievances and harassing BJP workers through unnecessary raids.

He said, despite repeated warnings to the department, including to the Energy Minister, no improvement had been seen.

"This case not only exposes the failure of the administration but also shows how public representatives and common citizens alike are being forced to suffer due to departmental apathy," Rahi said.

Following the episode, Energy Minister A K Sharma announced the immediate suspension of Mishra.

In a post on X, Sharma wrote: "The indiscreet behaviour by the Junior Engineer (JE) of the Electricity Department in Hargaon, Sitapur district, towards Hon'ble State Minister Shri Suresh Rahi ji is absolutely unacceptable. His insensitivity and negligence are unforgivable."

Sharma added that he had spoken personally with Rahi and instructed senior officials, including the chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited and the managing director of the Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd, to take the incident seriously.

He said this reflected a "top-to-bottom failure" in the department's management and warned all electricity department employees that similar misconduct in the future would lead to strict action.