Naeem Haider Panjutha booked in power theft case

SARGODHA: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha has been booked in a case over alleged electricity theft in Bhera city of Sargodha district, police said on Saturday.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), case No. 462 was registered at Bhera Police Station against Panjutha under Section 462-I of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), which deals with theft of electric power and tampering with electricity meters by domestic consumers.

The case was registered on a complaint submitted by Muhammad Atif Zia, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), Sardar Pur Noon Sub-Division.

According to the FIR, a Fesco task force team inspected the electricity meter installed at the premises of a consumer identified as Naeem Haider.

The inspection team allegedly found the meter suspicious and removed it before sending it to the Fesco laboratory in Sargodha for examination.

The FIR stated that the Executive Engineer (XEN), Metering and Testing (M&T), Sargodha, subsequently reported that the meter had allegedly been tampered with, its seals on both sides were broken and its body had been opened.

The report further alleged that an additional wire had been installed and the meter’s terminal had been shunted, resulting in direct electricity theft.

On the basis of the inspection and laboratory findings, the Fesco official requested registration of a case against the consumer under Section 462-I of the PPC.

PTI Sept 27 march: ‘Is storming Islamabad a political activity?’ IHC CJ asks

The development comes as the PTI has announced a nationwide protest on September 27, demanding the release of party founder Imran Khan and calling for the supremacy of the Constitution.

Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel on Friday challenged the jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to hear a petition against the PTI’s planned September 27 march towards Islamabad.

A three-member larger bench, headed by IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Muhammad Asif, heard the petition filed by citizen Waqas Ahmed.