JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday, November 17, paid off a penalty of ₹68,526 to Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) after he was penalised by the Vigilance Department of the company for drawing power directly from a pole for decorative serial lights at his J.P. Nagar residence during Deepavali. He, however, alleged that he was fined more than he should have been for the offence due to “political reasons”.
“For my residence, I have a sanction for 33 KW from Bescom. Under the ‘power theft’ accusation, Bescom had said that 2.5 KW of electricity was used for lighting when in reality only 1 KW was used. They have falsely accused me of using 2.5 KW. I do not know under whose pressure they have done this,” he said.
He added, “I have used 71 units. Even if they had penalised me three times the charges, it would have been ₹2,526. But Bescom asked me to pay ₹68,000 after billing me ₹66,000 for the 33 KW sanction I have for my house. Instead of going by the rules, they penalised me more. If this is what happens to a former Chief Minister, then what about the plight of the common people?” he asked.
