In a single biggest catch of recent times, flying squad of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) unearthed a power theft at a stone crushing unit and recovered Rs 25 lakh. During the investigation it was learnt that the unit located at Fetri in Kalmeshwar tehsil was working by tapping power directly from the overhead wire. The owner acknowledged that he was stealing power for past one year, till flying squad busted the game. Of late, MSEDCL has been trying to ensure that realisation of bills matches with the quantum of power supplied.

 

A gap between the two is indication of power theft and flying squad then moves into action. MSEDCL's flying squad had received a tip-off that electricity was being stolen at stone crusher unit at Fetri. The team rushed to the spot to confirm the information received. A survey of spot revealed that the owner had directly tapped into overhead wire by-passed the meter to draw power. Given its remote location, the owner of stone crushing unit was sure no one would notice the direct tapping of power. This led to a loss of revenue for MSEDCL. During the panchnama, it was found that the owner of the stone crusher had stolen a total of 1,12,035 units of electricity during the last one year. While evaluating this, MSEDCL's flying squad estimated total revenue loss of Rs 25,78, 912 to the owner of the stone crusher. As per the calculation of power rate the stone crusher unit would have to pay Rs. 14,78,912 and on top of it he was imposed penalty of Rs. 10,00,000.

 

As theft of electricity is a criminal offence the owner of stone crusher unit promptly agreed with calculation of amount and paid it in single stroke to avoid prosecution. The action was carried out under the guidance of Sumit Kumar, Deputy Director, MSEDCL, Nagpur Range; Dilip Dodke, Chief Engineer, Nagpur Circle; Vilas Navghare, Additional Executive Engineer; by Vishwanath Bisne, Vigilance and Security Department and Ekta Pardhi with their team.