Powercom team held captive in Jodh Singh Wala village, 90 farmers booked

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, February 4

The Powercom employees who had gone to check power theft in Jodh Singh Wala village on Friday night were held captive for hours by farmers. A team of the Patti Sadar police reached the spot and released the employees.

The five-member power officials team led by Kulwant Singh Dhanoa, Additional Superintending Engineer (Enforcement), had gone to the village to check power theft. The team was performing its duty when activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Punjab, led by Paramjit Singh Gudaike reached the spot and detained the Powercom officials. The police team led by SHO Harjinder Singh reached the spot for the security of the employees. The SHO held several rounds of talks with the farmers but did not yield any result. The police team doused the farmers and helped power officials escape in their vehicles parked at some distance.

Paramjit Singh Gudaike, president of the BKU, said the police had managed to send the Powercom team to the safe destination through the fields after midnight. The BKU was demanding no action against the power consumers held for power theft and farm loan waiver. The Patti Sadar police had registered a case under Sections 353, 186 and 342 of the IPC against 90 farmers. Some of the booked farmers were identified as Paramjit Singh, Gurpreet Singh Gora, Mukhtiar Singh, Sukhchain Singh, Gurwinder Singh, Jarnail Singh and Rajwinder Singh.