Police register power theft cases worth Rs 100 crore

Mumbai: The Aurangabad City Police on Thursday registered power theft cases involving theft of Rs 100 crores. The crackdown followed after there were several complaints of power lines being misused for stealing power in the city, following which multiple police teams were made with the help of MSEDCL officials,

The joint teams of police and power company under the guidance of police commissioner Yashasvi Yadav registered cases and cut the illegal power meters. Officials said that the style of putting a metal hook on the power lines and stealing electricity was sophisticated.

They further added that the power thefts were being done with the help of Chinese-made remote control systems that were integrated with chips. “These gadgets were used to tamper with the electricity meters and switch the meters on or off, which would lower the reading and fudge the power bills,” said a Aurangabad police officer.

The officials stated that several hundreds of such persons were likely to be stealing power using the gadgets that were new in the market. The police conducted several raids and have confiscated 40 remotes which were used in the crime. Cases of power theft have been registered against the accused persons and establishments and further probe is underway.