Sambhal: Sub-divisional officer Santosh Tripathi (SDO) said that the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Department and police demolished illegal encroachments in Sambhal.

Few residents had even made such encroachments that “the electricity pole was inside their house,” he claimed.

“A few are involved in electricity theft without having connection and proper meter. There was an older mechanical meter inside, that is being taken out. Action is being taken to remove the encroachment,” Tripathi told ANI during bulldozer action.

Sambhal’s SDO also mentioned that the older meters had been discontinued around 15 years ago.

“As far as I know, there were orders 15 years ago that mechanical meters will not be installed anymore. The few older meters who were not detected before, like the one seen will be taken out too,” he said.

While being at the site, the SDO said around 2-3 houses were seen stealing electricity, but the total number of houses will be known after an investigation.

Earlier on Monday, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi met the victims of Sambhal violence at the residence of party leader Sonia Gandhi.

“Today Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi met the victims of Sambhal. The incident in Sambhal is the ill-effects of BJP’s hate politics and it is fatal for a peaceful society,” Congress said in a post on X.

“Together we have to defeat this violent and hateful mentality with love and brotherhood. We stand with all the victims and will fight to get them justice,” the post added.

The violence in Sambhal erupted on November 24 during an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) examination of a Mughal-era mosque, resulting in four fatalities and multiple injuries among police personnel and locals.