19 arrested in drive against electricity thieves

LAHORE:The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) has detected a total of 254 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 62nd day of grand anti-power theft campaign.

A Lesco spokesman told media here Thursday that the company had also submitted FIR applications against 251 electricity thieves, out of which 131 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations, while 19 alleged thieves have been arrested.

Grand anti-power theft operations against electricity thieves were being conducted on the directives of the Federal Power Division and the Lesco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider is supervising these operations.

The Lesco chief vowed that the operations would continue without discrimination until the complete end of electricity theft. The electricity pilferers as well as the Lesco officers and employees who facilitate them were also being brought to justice.

On the 62nd consecutive day (November 9) of the anti-power theft campaign, the spokesman added, large commercial consumers were also found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also disconnected and charged with detection units. Among the seized connections 03 were commercial, 03 agricultural, 02 industrial and 246 domestic, and all these connections were disconnected and charged with a total of 268,911 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 11.723 million. Apprising the media about some major power pilferers, he explained that Lesco charged Rs 264,638 detection bill against 12,029 units to an electricity pilferer in an area of Sheikhupura, Rs 414,540 fine in the form of detection bill against 9,565 units to a customer stealing electricity in Sharqpur area, Rs 268,112 detection bill against 5,156 units to another power thief in Burj Atari and Rs 205,241 detection bill to a power thief also in Kot Abdul Malik area.

During the 62 days of grand anti-theft campaign, the spokesman mentioned, the Lesco detected pilferage on 24,518 power connections and submitted 24,274 FIR applications against electricity thieves in the relevant police stations out of which 23,439 FIRs had been registered, while 12,104 accused had so far been arrested by the police.

The Lesco had so far charged a total of 46,203,251 detection units worth Rs 1,948,456,370 to all the power pilferers.