Waiting for Sambhal MP's reply till January 4 in power theft case: Electricity dept

Sambhal (UP): The electricity department on Tuesday said it is waiting for a response from Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal, Zia ur Rehman Barq, on a notice it sent to the Samajwadi Party (SP) leader, officials said on Tuesday.

Superintending engineer of the department Vinod Kumar said that the executive engineer has given 15 days time to the MP in the electricity theft case. He said till January 4, the department will wait for his reply, after which they will start the evaluation process.

On December 19, the department imposed a fine of Rs 1.91 crore on Barq for allegedly stealing electricity at his residence in the Deepa Sarai locality of Sambhal district and also disconnected the power supply to his residence.

Officials had said that the development came after the police registered a case against him on December 19 under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

As per the FIR lodged on the complaint of an electricity department official, Barq is accused of stealing electricity by tampering with the metre.

Barq is among those booked in connection with the November 24 violence in which four locals died in a clash with security personnel during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.

The Lok Sabha MP has said he has been wrongly implicated and that he was not present at the place of the incident.

Apart from alleged power theft, steps leading up to Barq's house have also been removed as part of an anti-encroachment drive.