Electricity board employees attempting to collect outstanding bills were assaulted in two separate incidents, with the accused claiming that electricity should be provided free of cost, citing a promise made by the Congress government, officials close to the developments said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, an electricity board employee was assaulted when he went to collect the electricity bill in Arakalagudu Taluk of Hassan district, police said.
The victim, identified as Santhosh, works for Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited Mysore (CESCOM), police said.
According to Santhosh, he had arrived to collect the pending dues when Suresh and his minor son assaulted him. Suresh, who operates a chicken shop, had an outstanding electricity bill of ₹1,150.
“I had gone to collect the electricity bill at around 10:45 am on the orders of higher officials. When I asked them to pay the outstanding bill, Suresh and his son verbally abused me. His son then assaulted me further,” Santhosh said.
Following the assault, Santhosh was admitted to a local public hospital, and the police visited him to gather information. The incident falls under the jurisdiction of the Arakalagudu police station, officials said.
In a separate incident in Kalaburagi, Assistant Engineer (AE) Siddaramappa Nimbalkar from Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM) was also subjected to an assault on Wednesday while collecting an electricity bill.
The accused, Waseem Saifan Sab, a resident of Sonargalli in Aland town, had pending bills for the past six months amounting to ₹3,000 for his house and ₹7,300 for the dhaba (restaurant) he owns. When the electricity board official threatened to disconnect the power supply, Waseem allegedly attacked him, police said.
Nimbalkar, who sustained injuries, was later admitted to a private hospital in Kalaburagi. A case has been registered at the Aland police station in connection with the incident, they added.
Last month, a man was arrested for assaulting a GESCOM employee in Koppal district. Chandrashekar Hiremat, a resident of Kukanapalli in Koppal, verbally abused and attacked Manjunath when asked to pay his pending electricity bill. Hiremat had accumulated dues amounting to ₹9,990 over the past six months.
During its election manifesto, the Congress party had presented five guarantees, including providing 200 units of free power to every household. After assuming office, chief minister Siddaramaiah had given in-principle approval to implement the party’s five guarantees.
