Power meter tampering racket busted, 1 held

Chandigarh: The vigilance team of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has unearthed a racket involving alleged tampering of power meters under the garb of ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme in Manauli village of Sonipat district.

One member of the gang, who was allegedly an employee of a contractor hired for installation of electricity meters, has been arrested. It is alleged that the person identified as Parmod Kumar used to charge somewhere between Rs 8,000 and Rs 12,000 and would then fix a chip to tamper the electricity meter. According to information, it started in June 2017, when the company was given a contract for installation of power meters at Manauli village under Rai subdivision.

The then SDO, Pardeep Kumar, quietly brought it to the notice of the vigilance wing of the UHBVN, which started investigations. Headed by DSP Satish Sharma, the team of the vigilance wing found that 67 of a total 300 electricity meters had been tampered with. Consequently, Parmod was arrested.

Sources said he was currently in the custody of vigilance bureau police. DSP Sharma said the contractor was the kingpin of the racket and efforts were being made to arrest him.