An FIR naming 23 people, including three junior engineers, has been registered over alleged electricity theft in Noida’s restricted floodplain area, while questions have been raised about why serving officials were not included in the case.
The case was registered at Sector 63 police station following directions from the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate illegal electricity connections in the floodplain, locally referred to as the doob area. According to the report, electricity connections were allegedly provided over several years in the restricted area and residents were charged substantial amounts in return.
The FIR was filed on the complaint of junior engineer Anuj Kumar. The accused named in the case include junior engineers Anuj Kumar, Surendra Hasan and Kailash Yadav, along with residents identified as Munni Noorani of Chhijarsi, Bakhtawar Singh, Ajay Yadav of Hindon Vihar, Vijendra Yadav, Shiv Kumar, Sonu Yadav, Rahul Yadav of Garhi and Suraj Kumar of Balwant Nagar, among others.
The report said that several officials named in the case had either retired or been transferred to other districts. It also reported allegations that serving officials had been shielded, although the supplied account does not include a response from the electricity department or the police to that claim.
The case follows departmental action in which illegal connections in the area were disconnected. The government-ordered investigation was also intended to identify officials responsible for allowing the alleged network to operate. The report said the illegal connections were linked to a purported organised network that used valid and agricultural electricity connections to supply colonies in the floodplain.
The allegations raise an administrative question beyond the disconnection of individual connections: how such a network could continue for years without detection or intervention by the responsible field officials. The report describes the alleged operation as a large syndicate, but does not provide details of the financial scale, the number of connections removed or the duration established by investigators.
The FIR names both departmental personnel and private individuals, but registration of a case does not establish guilt. The allegations will have to be examined through the police investigation and any subsequent departmental or judicial proceedings. The supplied report also does not state whether arrests have been made, whether further FIRs are planned or what action will be taken against currently serving officials.
The next steps are expected to include investigation of the alleged illegal connections, identification of officials responsible for authorising or overlooking them, and continued action against electricity theft in the restricted area.
