5,157 booked for power theft, 7.98cr fine collected in Mar

Ranchi: Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) lodged FIRs against 5,157 people and collected Rs 7.98 crore as fine in March in its drive against power theft, the state discom said on Thursday.
The searches by the anti-power theft (APT) unit of JBVNL, involving 119 teams from regional offices and headquarters, were held at 31,511 premises suspected of power theft. Of these, 5,157 cases of electricity theft were identified, it stated.
In Ranchi, 4,039 raids were conducted and 465 FIRs lodged under the Indian Electricity Act-2003, with an assessed amount of Rs 60.81 lakh. Jamshedpur followed with 3,316 raids and 408 FIRs, amounting to Rs 56.60 lakh assessed. Other notable districts are Dhanbad, with 3,101 raids and 326 FIRs, and Chaibasa, which recorded 3,381 raids and 271 FIRs.
Officials said the initiative aims to not only recover losses but also deter future violations.
JBVNL general manager, APT, Shravan Kumar, said, "The move is part of a drive to reinforce legal steps to curb rampant electricity theft that hits the state's power distribution network."
JBVNL urged residents to report offenders via whatsapp or SMS at 94311-35515. The identity of informants will be kept confidential.