Misuse of electricity : Bains brothers slapped with Rs 55-lakh demand note

Thursday, 05/04/2012

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120405/ldh1.htm#2

Claim grounds frivolous; to file defamation suit against Chief Engineer

The Lalton Division of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has served a demand note of Rs 55 lakh upon Bains Alloys, a firm owned by independent MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains, who successfully contested as rebel SAD-B nominees from Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South Assembly segments respectively.

Some eight teams of officials of enforcement wing of the PSPCL, drawn from different districts of Punjab, had conducted intensive checking of half a dozen large supply (LS) and two medium supply (MS) industrial units in the Gill Assembly segment under the administrative jurisdiction of Lalton division barely a day before the results of the Assembly segments were to be declared after counting of votes.

dring inspection of furnace unit owned by Bains Brothers, the raiding party had removed two energy meters that were sent to the meter examination (ME) laboratory for inspection. "The seals of the meters were found intact during examination and the energy meters were also tested as correct," an official of the PSPCL said.

However, based on the observations of the inspection report of the enforcement wing, the PSPCL found Bains Alloys being involved in unauthorised use of electricity. "A furnace unit was found working at a place other than where the load for this particular unit was sanctioned, which is irregular and amounts to unauthorised use," observed the PSPCL officials.

Crying foul, Simarjit Singh Bains charged the ruling SAD-B leadership with masterminding the raids on his unit a day before the counting of votes for Assembly polls. "Now that the official SAD-B candidates have lost both the assembly seats (Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South), the frustrated SAD-B leaders are trying to build more pressure on us by harassing us.

Talking to The Tribune, Bains claimed that all the electric installations, energy meters in his unit were found in order during the inspection. "And after nothing wrong was found in the two energy meters removed from our premises and tested in the ME Lab, the PSPCL has been made to serve a demand notice on frivolous technical grounds," he said.

Bains added that he intended to file a defamation suit against the Chief Engineer of Central Zone of the PSPCL, who had issued and signed the demand notice to his firm.