BSES engineer dies in road mishap during anti-theft drive

A BSES engineer on Monday died and four others were injured as their car rammed into a tree while they were, according to BSES officials, escaping a mob during a power theft checking drive in south west Delhi's Jaffarpur Kalan area.

Police, however, claimed it was not a mob attack but a case of rash driving.

Three BSES teams raided Jhul Jhuli village in Jaffarpur Kalan, after a tip about large scale power theft, on Monday afternoon.

A BSES spokesperson said that the teams, accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, came under attack by a mob and forced to retreat.

"The teams' cars were chased by bike-borne goons. One of the cars rammed into a tree and an occupant, assistant engineer Abhimanyu Singh, succumbed to his injuries," said the spokesperson.

The 32 -year-old Singh was a native of Munger, Bihar.

Police said that the injured Bhim Singh (27), Yogender (25), Saurakh (24) and Irfan (22) were admitted to DDU Hospital.

However, a policeman claimed that the teams were provided adequate security for the raid which went "successfully".

"26 policemen accompanied the teams. The raid was successful, but one of the cars met with an accident. No one was being chased," said the officer.

A case will be registered in the matter after considering "all the circumstances", he said.

"These are not isolated incidents. Efforts to check the irregularities are often thwarted by law-defying people. Power theft has taken shape of organized crime," said the BSES spokesperson.