Varanasi: Locals thrash cop inspecting power theft

A police officer was allegedly thrashed by locals when he went to inspect an illegal electricity connection in Varanasi's Virat Nagar colony on Sunday.

Speaking about the incident, P Dinesh Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police, said, "Imirti Lal, who has an illegal water plant, was stealing power from the lines. When officer Deepak Kumar Shrivastav went to inspect, Lal, along with his family members and some others, misbehaved and thrashed the officer."

Shrivastav is the power officer of Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. He had received information about an illegal water plant in the area.

"A case has been filed. Our team is here to make arrests. Strict action will be taken," the police said.

"We have received information that there are more such water plants in the area. Teams from food and power cell have arrived at the location. They are inspecting the area," they informed.

Locals, however, alleged that the police officer was corrupt and used to demand bribes from people in the region for illegal electricity connections.