Rs 1.91 Crore Fine On Samajwadi Party's Sambhal MP For Electricity Theft, Case Against Barq's Father For Threatening UP Officers

The Samajwadi Party (SP) member of Parliament (MP), Ziaur Rahman Barq, has been fined Rs 1.91 crore by the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) on the grounds of alleged electricity theft.

Additionally, a case has been filed against his father, who is accused of threatening UPPCL employees when they went to check electricity metre and electric equipment loads at his Sambhal residence on Thursday.

“The fine was imposed after it was detected that more than 16 KW units were being used at his residence against the sanctioned strength of 4 KW capacity meters," Vinod Kumar Gupta, Assistant Engineer, UPPCL said.

"We have put up a smart meter in place of the existing ones which detected the power theft. The existing meters had shown a zero unit reading for the last six months," the Sambhal UPPCL official added.

The Sambhal police have previously charged Barq for purportedly inciting a crowd with his inflammatory speech, leading to the violence near Shahi Jama Masjid on 24 November, resulting in the death of four individuals.

Reportedly, he has submitted a request to the Allahabad High Court, seeking a delay on his potential arrest. The court is expected to consider his plea on Friday (20 December).

A complaint was filed against Mamluk Ur Rahman Barq, father of Barq, at the Nakhasa police station. The complaint, lodged by UPPCL Sub-Divisional Officer Santosh Tripathi on Thursday evening.

It was under sections 224 (threat to public servant) and 223 (punishment for disobeying orders given by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

"The MP’s father had tried to stop us when we were trying to see how electricity was being stolen at his residence. He said ‘You people will be ruined if the SP government comes to power. Your activities are being recorded with CCTV cameras. Each one of you will face consequences with the change of government (in the state)’," said B K Gangal, Junior Engineer, UPPCL.

Mamluk Ur Rahman Barq alleged the police and UPPCL employees "misbehaved" during the raid and tried to provoke people to vitiate the law and order situation.

"All this is being done to defame the MP and his party. People are being subjected to injustice and we will not tolerate it at any cost," the senior Barq added.

Qasim Jamal, the attorney for Barq, contended that a 10 KW solar panel and a 5 KW generator were providing power to the MP's home. He stated that both the FIR and the fine lacked legal basis, and that they would be contesting them in court.