‘UP Congress headquarters locked up by its ex-employees’

The Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters in Mall Avenue area of the state capital was locked up for some time on Thursday by some former employees of the party. The party’s office was locked up by people living in some “illegally” built hutments and outhouses inside and around the office campus after the party administration disconnected their power supply.

The party officials said they disconnected the supply to these outhouses as their residents were "stealing" power from the party's main supply line.

"Relatives of some former employees of the party office live illegally with their families in the area adjacent to the Congress office. These people have taken the power connection from the party office," Anup Gupta, the administration in-charge of the Uttar Pradesh Congress headquarters told PTI. The party acted against the illegal residents after the party received a huge power bill of Rs 6 lakh this month, he said.

"When the Electricity Department officials were asked about the bill, it transpired that out of the total bill, power worth Rs 3.5 lakh had been consumed by the illegal occupants,” said Gupta. At this, the power supply lines of these houses were snapped, he added.

"To protest against the snapping of power, some persons locked the party's main gate at around 10 am. They, however, removed the lock later," he said. He said appropriate action would be taken against these "illegal occupants" as per law.