Four persons, including a policeman, were arrested in Bihar’s capital Patna on Thursday for allegedly extorting money from power consumers after accusing them of having tampered with their electricity meters, police said.
Those arrested were identified as Mohammad Mehfooz Alam (42), who had previously worked with the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) on contract basis, and his associates Pawan Kumar, a jawan of Bihar Special Auxiliary Police (BSAP), Akshaydeep, who claims to be journalist, and one Rishiraj.
Patna’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manavjit Singh Dhillon said the matter came to light when three of them visited the house of one Mohammad Rizwan in Samanpura locality and told him there was tampering in his electricity meter and he would have to pay a fine of ₹2.5 lakh to the BSEB.
According to the SSP, Rizwan grew suspicious and refused to pay fine, leading to a heated exchange. Neighbours soon assembled at the spot and asked for their identities. Pawan, who was in a police uniform, try to flee but locals chased and overpowered all three of them.
“Soon, a local police team reached the spot and took them into custody. During interrogation, they disclosed the name of Mehfooz Alam, who was later arrested from Raja Bazaar. A case has been registered against them and we are verifying house owners duped by them,” the SSP said.
The arrested policeman, meanwhile, has been suspended and departmental proceedings have been initiated against him, police said.
