In a bizarre incident, a Congress MLA in Haridwar was seen climbing electricity poles and cutting the power to the houses of three electricity department officials in frustration over repeated power outages.
Congress MLA Virendra Jati from Jhabreda in Haridwar district was reportedly annoyed by power cuts, prompting him to take the drastic measure of personally cutting power to the officials’ houses. The electricity department filed a complaint against the MLA at the Roorkee Civil Lines Police Station over the power cuts.
On Tuesday, Jati came to Roorkee with his supporters, a ladder, and some cutting tools. He first climbed an electric pole outside the official residence of superintending engineer Vivek Rajput at the Boat Club and cut off the electricity connection to his house.
Uttarakhand के Roorkee में Congress विधायक Virendra Jaatii ने बिजली विभाग के अधिकारियों के घरों की बिजली काटी#VirendraKumar #Uttarakhand #Congress #Roorkee@SabeenaTamang pic.twitter.com/t9CMWw34l4
— News18 India (@News18India) December 24, 2025
After this, the MLA reached the official residences of chief engineer Anupam Singh and executive engineer Vinod Pandey with his convoy, and cut their houses’ power connection too. He alleged that there had been unannounced power cuts for five to eight hours a day in his area, causing significant distress to the public.
Jati also alleged that he had been raising the issue of power cuts with the department for 10 days, but no heed was paid. He justified his action by stating that the officials were in poor condition after just one hour of a power cut, while the public endures hours without electricity every day.
The department’s complaint against the lawmaker alleged that Jati cut the power lines without a proper shutdown, which could have led to a major accident. This was not only a violation of rules but also a direct interference in government work, it alleged.
(with inputs from PTI)
