LAHORE  -  The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has detected a total of 33 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nan­kana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 79th day of grand anti-power theft campaign.

The LESCO spokesman told media here Monday that the company has also submitted FIR applica­tions against 28 electricity thieves, out of which 15 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations, while one accused has been arrested.

Grand anti-power theft operations against elec­tricity thieves are being conducted on the direc­tives of the Federal Power Division and the LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider is supervising these operations. The LE­SCO chief vowed that the operations would con­tinue without discrimination until the complete end of electricity theft. The electricity pilferers as well as the LESCO officers and employees who facilitate them are also being brought to justice.

On the 79th consecutive day (Nov. 27) of the anti-power theft campaign, the spokesman added, large commercial consumers were also found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also discon­nected and charged with detection units. Among the seized connections 03 were commercial and 30 domestic, and all these connections were discon­nected and charged with a total of 39,709 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 2,253,144. Appris­ing the media about some major power pilferers, he explained that LESCO charged 15,819 detection units to an electricity pilferer in Shalimar Town area; 15,524 detection units to a customer steal­ing electricity on Luxmi Chowk Lahore; 10,300 detection units to another power thief on Beadon Road; and 4,950 detection units to a power thief in an area of Sheranwala Gate. During the 79 days of grand anti-theft campaign, the spokesman men­tioned, the LESCO detected pilferage on 30,384 power connections and submitted 30,008 FIR applications against electricity thieves in the rel­evant police stations out of which 29,064 FIRs have been registered, while 13,324 accused have so far been arrested by the police. The LESCO has so far charged a total of 52,814,044 detection units worth Rs 2,114,099,607 to all the power pilferers.