<i>Subscribers beat up meter reader</i>

12 August 2009, 17:00 PM

Staff Correspondent, Ctg

Angry locals yesterday beat up an employee of Power Development Board (PDB) and his 'assistant' for their alleged harassment to people and malpractice in electric-meter reading at Bakolia in the city. As Sadhan Chandra Nath, a lower division assistant of the Bakolia Power Sales and Distribution Centre under the Chittagong PDB, and his 'meter-reading assistant' Abdus Salam went to Bakolia Chairmanghata at around 12:30pm, people confined and beat them up, sources said. Later, officials from the concerned PDB office rushed there and rescued them. Locals alleged that Sadhan and Salam have been harassing the consumers of PDB in the area in different ways for a long time. They realised Tk 500 to Tk 1000 from a customer in exchange for providing opportunity to use equipment that consume huge power, the subscribers said. In case of refusal to give money according to their demand, they harass people by showing higher reading of the meters, victims alleged. When asked, Bakolia Sales and Distribution Centre Executive Engineer Mrinal Kanti Sen said departmental action could not be taken against Sadhan as the locals did not lodge any complaint with the office. Sadhan's assistant Abdus Salam was not an employee of the PDB, he added.