Mysore/Mysuru: The Police Officers attached to CESC’s (Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation’s) vigilance wing have earned praise for quick disposal of cases pertaining to power thefts reported from five districts coming under CESC jurisdiction — Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan and Kodagu.

The vigilance sleuths, upon coming to know of electricity thefts, conducted the investigations speedily, which has helped CESC in saving power.

Speaking to Star of Mysore,  CESC Vigilance Cell Dy.SP Ansar  Ali said that soon after receiving complaints or being alerted about any power theft, the Cell will seek the help of CESC technical wing to find out the duration and quantum of power theft. Later, the officers of the Cell will crackdown on offending owners of Domestic, Industrial and other Commercial property owners, who are at fault. Subsequently, the offender owners will pay up the penalty for their wrongdoing and thus save themselves from further legal action such as filing of FIR.

“More than 60 percent of the owners who are found guilty of power theft cough up penalty and thus save themselves from further legal actions, while the rest will contend the charges in the Court. However, the number of cases pertaining to power theft issues, most of which come up during Lok Adalats, is steadily on the decline with the  Vigilance Cell always in alert and active mode,” the Dy.SP noted.

Continuing, Ansar Ali said that every district coming under CESC has a separate Police Wing and officers are always on the lookout for any power thefts, be it Industrial, residential, commercial or individual, as one of the major challenges for CESC is power theft, which is causing losses to the company. Since the punishment for first time offenders is penalty, almost every offender is paying it without any contention in order to get rid of further legal action, he said adding that power theft cases are discovered more in Mysuru, when compared to other districts.

Ansar Ali further said that in appreciation of the efforts of the Vigilance Cell, the Mysuru District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) presented a certificate of appreciation to the Cell during Lok Adalat held last month.