Ex-MPA caught stealing electricity, fined

LAHORE: The former Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Punjab, Agha Ali Haider and his two brothers have been caught stealing electricity by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) officials, ARY News reported on Monday.

Former Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Agha Ali Haider has been caught and fined for allegedly stealing electricity through an illegal connection (kunda) from the Low Tension (LT) Line.

According to the LESCO’s sub-divisional officer (SDO), Haider and his two brothers were caught stealing electricity from the LT Line outside his residence in Kothi Sharif Khan Village.

He added that a complaint was lodged at the local police station. The SDO said that Rs1.5 million fine has been imposed on the accused lawmaker for the alleged power theft.

The complaint obtained by ARY News read that a team detected an illegal connection at Agha Ali Haider’s house which caused Rs500,000 loss to the LESCO, Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA).

Haider had served as an MPA in Punjab from PP-134 (Nankana Sahib-IV) on Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) from 2002 to 2008.

‘282 illegal connections’

The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) detected a total of 282 connections from where power consumers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts during anti-power theft crackdown.

A LESCO spokesman told the media on Wednesday that the company had submitted applications to the police stations concerned for registration of FIRs against 268 electricity thieves, out of which 176 cases were registered, while 24 accused were arrested.

The anti-power theft operations against electricity thieves are 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 are also being brought to justice.