Sambhal MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq fined Rs 1.9 crore for alleged electricity theft

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Department fined Sambhal Lok Sabha MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq Rs 1.91 crore for alleged power theft, PTI reported on Friday. The department also disconnected the electricity supply to his residence.

The action came after the police on Thursday registered a case against the Samajwadi Party legislator for alleged electricity theft under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003.

His father, Mamlukur Rehman, was also booked for allegedly threatening officials during an inspection at their home in Deepa Sarai, Sambhal.

“An electricity inspection drive underway in Sambhal even today,” Sambhal Superintending Engineer Vinod Kumar told PTI. “A fine of Rs 1.91 crore has been imposed on the MP by the electricity department and the power supply to his residence has been disconnected.”

Kumar said that the MP’s home had two two-kilowatt connections, one in the name of Zia Ur Rehman and another in his late grandfather’s name.

In the past six months, the meters showed zero unit consumption at the MP’s residence, according to a power department official.

He added that during the inspection on Thursday, a 16.48-kilowatt load was discovered at the MP’s residence. When both electricity meters were sent to the lab for testing, the magnetic resonance imaging test revealed that they had been tampered with.

The first information report...

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