An outsourced employee of the Electricity Department was abducted, assaulted and threatened by a local resident and his associates in the Gorakhpur police station area. Following the incident, an FIR was registered and the power distribution company launched a major enforcement drive in the locality on Sunday. According to officials, outsourced Electricity Department worker Anmol Tiwari was carrying out meter reading work near the water tank in Sethi Nagar around 3 pm on Saturday when Prem Thakur alias Chhotu, accompanied by two accomplices with their faces covered, arrived at the spot. The accused forced Tiwari into a vehicle and took him to Prem Thakur’s residence. The victim charged that he was confined for nearly half-an-hour and was brutally assaulted. During the assault, Prem Thakur abused him and accused him of being responsible for a power theft case registered against him last month. The accused demanded that Tiwari pay the penalty imposed in the electricity theft case. The complaint further added that the accused recorded a video in which Tiwari was forced to falsely confess that he had taken Rs 35,000 from Prem Thakur. Under pressure, Tiwari was also made a call to Junior Engineer Arun Malviya and asked for corrections in the electricity theft assessment bill without revealing the ongoing incident. Before releasing him, the accused threatened Tiwari with dire consequences if he reported the matter to police.

 

After senior department officials learned of the incident, they reached Gorakhpur police station late at night and lodged a complaint. Police registered a case under relevant sections of BNS, including assault, criminal intimidation and common intention and sent the victim for medical examination. Officials said a power theft case had been registered at Prem Thakur’s premises on May 4, resulting in a penalty and compounding amount of Rs 27,402. Including current dues, the outstanding amount had reached nearly Rs 35,000. In response to the assault, the Electricity Department, accompanied by police personnel, conducted an intensive enforcement drive across Sethi Nagar on Sunday. The service line and meter installed at Prem Thakur’s residence were disconnected and seized. Connections of other consumers with pending dues were also disconnected. During a special inspection campaign, power theft was allegedly detected at the premises of Akhilesh Sonkar, Pawan Thakur and Rahul Chakravarti. Cases were registered against them under Section 135 of the Electricity Act and their electricity connections were disconnected. Superintending Engineer Sanjay Arora said that the Department would appoint special legal counsel to ensure strict action against those involved in the assault. He also announced financial assistance of Rs 10,000 for the injured outsourced employee, Anmol Tiwari, in accordance with company rules.