Watt lag gayi: 20 booked for power theft at Amboli

The accused, residents of Makadpada slum, illegally drew electricity after their connections were snapped for non-payment of bills

The Amboli police have booked 20 slum dwellers on the charge of stealing electricity worth Rs 2.75 lakh. The power connections of the accused, who live at Makadpada in Andheri West, had been disconnected by Adani Electricity over non-payment of bills. They then allegedly stole electricity. The police have seized cables and meters that were used to illegally draw power from the main supply line.

The action under the Indian Penal Code and the Electricity Act, 2003, came on a complaint by Mihir Ashok Aaphle, an employee of Adani’s vigilance department. Some of the accused were using the stolen power for their shops, said the police. 

In his complaint, Aaphle said he and his colleague Santosh Pednekar were recently alerted by their senior Rohan Rane about power theft at Amboli’s Makadpada slum. While Adani had fixed the electricity supply ratio in the area, it was found to be too high during an inspection. More checks exposed thefts by residents, said the company.

A police official said, “After receiving a complaint from Adani Electricity, we registered a case against 20 residents including shopkeepers for stealing electricity. Many of them had not paid their electricity bills following which Adani Electricity had disconnected their supply and removed the meters. We found that these residents were using a direct connection from the main power supply through a cable pulled to their premises.” Adani pegged the loss due to the theft at Rs 2,73,471.

Quoting Adani officials, the FIR reads, “Around 20 residents including shopkeepers were found using electricity illegally and also found cable wires and 2 meters. These consumers were found stealing electricity after we disconnected the power due to non-payment of dues.”

Recently, the Chembur police had booked about 175 residents of Siddharth Nagar for stealing electricity worth Rs 4,86,635. The residents of Siddharth Nagar owe crores of rupees towards electricity charges accumulated over many years.

Rs 2.75L
Cost of power allegedly stolen by the accused

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