Karnataka: Industrialist, techie among 25 jailed for power theft

BENGALURU: An industrialist and a software engineer are among 25 sent to the Central Jail for alleged power theft in Bengaluru and its neighbouring districts.
In the first six months of 2018, the vigilance squad of the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) arrested 72 persons for power theft from Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Ramanagara, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Davanagere districts.Twenty-five of the 72 arrested this year were sent to jail as they were repeat offenders. Bescom collected Rs 200 crore in fine for this period.
Four persons were arrested for power theft in 2016, and 35 in 2017. Superintendent of police (Bescom vigilance) M Narayana told TOI meter tampering and ‘bypass method’ were the common ways of stealing power.