JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday, November 17, paid off a penalty of ₹68,526 to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) after he was penalised by the Vigilance Department of the company for drawing power directly from a pole for decorative serial lights at his J.P. Nagar residence during Deepavali. He, however, alleged that he was fined more than he should have been for the offence due to “political reasons”.
“For my residence, I have a sanction for 33 KW from Bescom. Under the ‘power theft’ accusation, Bescom had said that 2.5 KW of electricity was used for lighting when in reality only 1 KW was used. They have falsely accused me of using 2.5 KW. I do not know under whose pressure they have done this,” he said.
He added, “I have used 71 units. Even if they had penalised me three times the charges, it would have been ₹2,526. But Bescom asked me to pay ₹68,000 after billing me ₹66,000 for the 33 KW sanction I have for my house. Instead of going by the rules, they penalised me more. If this is what happens to a former Chief Minister, then what about the plight of the common people?” he asked.
After paying the bill, Mr. Kumaraswamy wrote to the Bescom Vigilance Department demanding a transparent action in the case and that he be billed as per the actual load of the serial set connection for the said day. He also requested the official to re-calculate and furnish a revised bill and also provide him a mahazar report.
In the letter, he also alleged that the FIR registered against him was flawed as the complainant, the Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of Bescom, had stated in the FIR that he had personally seen the power theft taking place, but when he had met Mr. Kumaraswamy he had told him that he had come to inspect the residential building after seeing the video in electronic and social media.
While stating that he was not advocating for non-payment or evasion of bills, the former Chief Minister said, “In conclusion, I am of the opinion that this is a political witch-hunt against me for the series of tweets and press meets conducted by me in connection to mismanagement of power sources against the present government which is run by a rival party headed by my arch-rivals.”
