In fresh trouble for Ziaur Rahman Barq, the Samajwadi Party MP has been unable to meet the 15-day deadline set by the Sambhal unit of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to pay a fine of Rs 1.91 crore for alleged electricity theft at his residence.
Following the expiry of the January 4 deadline, Barq is now expected to face the legal process for revenue recovery.
"We issued a notice for a fine of Rs 1.91 crore due to electricity theft at the residence of the MP on December 21. We set a deadline of 15 days for payment, which expired on January 4, but we have not yet received any payment. In two or three days, we will issue a recovery certificate (RC) and request the district revenue department to collect not only the fine but also the accrued interest from the offender," Naveen Gautam, the executive engineer (XEN) of UPPCL in Sambhal said, according to The Indian Express.
Last month, the Samajwadi Party leader was slapped with a fine of Rs 1.91 crore by the electricity department for alleged tampering with the electricity meters installed at his home on December 19.
The action against Barq was taken after a team from the state electricity department reached his residence and conducted checks following allegations of tampering with the electricity meters.
Meanwhile, Naveen Gautam said that the power connection to the MP’s residence will remain disconnected until he pays his fine.
Barq was booked under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003, (theft of power or unauthorised use of electricity) while his father Mamlukur Rehman Barq was also booked for allegedly threatening government officials during the power department's inspection at their home.
The SP MP is also facing another FIR filed by the police in connection with violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district during a survey of a Mughal-era mosque on November 24. The FIR accuses the MP of inciting violence among the crowd outside the Shahi Masjid on that day.
Earlier on Friday, the Allahabad High Court stayed the arrest of Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq in connection with the Sambhal violence case. However, the court refused to quash the FIR against him.
In the FIR lodged at the Sambhal police station, Barq has been named for alleged provocation for violence during the court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid mosque that left four people dead.
The order was passed by a bench of Justices Rajiv Gupta and Azahar Husain Idrisi on a petition filed by Barq, after hearing his counsel Imran Ullah and the additional government advocate. In its order, the court said the probe against Barq would continue and asked the member of Parliament to cooperate with the investigators.