Agra villagers ambush, shoot power department staff over electricity bill dispute; 4 hurt

AGRA: Khandauli area in Agra turned into a virtual war zone on Thursday, with hundreds of villagers attacking and brawling with employees of the electricity department over a dispute regarding power bills. In the ensuing violence, in which bullets were also fired, at least four men were injured. Heavy police force had to be rushed in to control the mob and prevent the violence from escalating.
The incident took place on Thursday morning, when junior engineer Harvesh Singh of the Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVNL) visited Basmohan Sahay village with electricians to inspect a heavy load transformer, which had broken down late on Wednesday night.
“When the JE and his men reached the village, they were surrounded by unruly residents. The engineer assured them that power supply in the area would be restored, but meanwhile the residents would have to clear their pending electricity bill, which they had not paid for more than a year,” executive engineer Rajvir Singh of the electricity department told TOI.
Infuriated over the engineer’s request to pay the bills, the villagers then allegedly attacked the department employees, one of who, Swatandra, was shot in the leg.
“A villager, identified as Chandrabhan Singh Yadav, who owes nearly Rs 22,000 in electricity bills to us, fired at our men,” Rajvir Singh added.
“Chandrabhan and several accomplices fired their licenced rifles, revolvers and shotguns at DVVNL employees, who tried to defend themselves,” said Ravi Tyagi, station officer of Khandauli, who reached the spot shortly after the incident was reported and oversaw the deployment of a large police force to ensure the situation did not deteriorate. Three villagers were also injured in the brawl.
“We are going to file an FIR against the accused men under IPC 307 (attempt to murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons) and other sections of the IPC, based on the written complaint filed by DVVNL officials,” Tyagi added.