UP: Asked to clear 20K power bill, man points rifle at officials

Ballia (Uttar Pradesh): Two officials of the UP electricity department were threatened by a local leader who pointed out his rifle at them when the duo went to collect the pending power dues. The two officials -- a Junior Engineer and a Lineman -- went to the residence of Ankur Verma, a local leader in Nagara area of Ballia. Ankur has not paid electricity dues of Rs 20,000 When the Junior Engineer Tarakeswar Yadav, posted at Nagara sub-centre, along with his lineman, asked Verma to clear the dues or else his connection would be disconnected, the latter intimidated them and pointed a rifle at them. In this case, the JE has filed a complaint against the accused in the police station. The police have sent the report of cancellation of the accused's gun to the District Magistrate (DM) Soumya Aggarwal.