New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) An east Delhi factory owner has been slapped a fine of Rs 1.35 crore by a power discom here for allegedly stealing electricity. The owner of the copper wire factory, located in Shahdara, allegedly stole 135 KW of electricity from discom BSES. The discom slapped the fine of Rs 1.35 crore as per the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003. The power theft was detected after an enforcement team visited the spot posing as shoppers. The factory owner had deployed informers to warn him about the presence of any vigilance teams in the area. Suspecting power theft, an enforcement team changed its strategy and visited the locality as ordinary shoppers. This lead to the detection of the power theft. "If the accused does not pay within the stipulated time-frame, a case will be registered against him in a special court," a BSES spokesperson said. The factory owner could not be contacted for his comments. "Though the power was being stolen by hooking a BSES line, it was being done very cleverly. The illegal wire was placed alongside the BSES cables, to give an impression that they were not electricity wires at all," the spokesperson said. The two electricity meters at the site were also found disconnected. In an another case, Mohammed Ahmed, a resident of New Seelampur, was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a special court for missing the deadline for paying a penalty of Rs 11.28 lakh. The Seelampur resident had been caught stealing 5.2 KW of electricity by a BSES enforcement team on February 25 last year.
