Man sentenced after 6 years for power theft, fined ₹5.7 lakh

Bhopal: Six years after he was caught stealing power, a man in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh was sentenced with three-month imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5.79 lakh.
The man identified as Ramesh Pachori, 50, a resident of Pachroiyanpura village under Ater police station of the district was caught stealing power by vigilance teams of the discom on October 1, 2018.

Sources from the discom said that Pachori was caught stealing energy from a transformer near a tubewell connection which was in the name of Asharam from his village. He placed three wires and used to run a 10 HP flour mill from that stolen power, added sources. The vigilance teams of discom booked him under section 135 of electricity Act 2003, the case was presented before court.
After trial, the court found him guilty and sentenced him with three months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5.79 lakh at the rate of three times the value of stolen energy, said sources. Power theft is rampant in Bhind district, as on date more than Rs 1,041 crore worth of energy bills are outstanding there, said sources.
This is despite the fact that more than 80% of the consumers in Bhind district are beneficiaries of Atal Griha Jyoti Yojana, i.e., they get subsidies by state govt but even then, even after getting bills less than 100 for consumption upto 100 units and less than Rs 400 for consumption upto 150 units, bills are not being paid.
The per unit revenue in the district is also only close to Rs 1 per unit, this is less than 20% of the cost incurred by the discom to provide energy at the door steps, said sources.