UP power theft case: 73-year-old retired clerk ‘mistakenly named’; acquitted after 13-year trial

AGRA: Following a legal ordeal spanning more than a decade, a 73-year-old retired clerk from Agra has finally cleared his name in an electricity theft case in which police had "mistakenly named" him as an accused. Additional district and sessions judge Gyanendra Rao acquitted Tuhiram Singh, ruling that the electricity department is now free to initiate action against the real offender.Singh's counsel, advocate Naresh Sharma, said the case dates back to Nov 22, 2012, when electricity connections of several residents of Sahi village in Achhnera were disconnected due to non-payment of bills. A week later, on Nov 29, a junior engineer of the electricity department launched a "recovery campaign" and conducted checks in the village.During the drive, five people—Vijay Singh, Nanne Khan, Ram Murty, Yogesh Kumar and Tuhi Ram, son of Monaram—were found stealing electricity by using illegal hook lines (katia) connected to the village's main power line. A case under Section 138(B) of the Electricity Act was subsequently registered at Achhnera police station, and an investigation was launched. After completing the probe, police filed a chargesheet against the five accused—but it was here that a critical error crept in.Instead of naming Tuhi Ram, son of Monaram, police "mistakenly" mentioned Tuhiram, son of Mohan Singh, a retired revenue department clerk who had no connection to the offence. "The innocent Tuhiram came to know about the case only in 2014 when court notices started arriving at his home. Shocked, he approached the electricity department, police and administrative offices to prove his innocence, but to no avail," Sharma told TOI on Saturday.Though Singh has been acquitted, the relief is tempered by the years of suffering and lingering questions over accountability. "I fought this case for 13 years. I was not even a full-time govt employee but a contractual worker. I had already got my electricity disconnected in 2007, and a new connection was issued in my son's name. There was no pending bill in my name. The case brought me disgrace in the village in my old age and forced me to spend lakhs of rupees on legal expenses over the years. I have got justice now, but who will return my lost years, my reputation, and the money I spent?" said Singh bitterly. He demanded compensation from the govt and action against the officials who investigated the case. "I do not have any pension, and my two sons are also in the low-income group," he added.Sharma added that while the acquittal has finally lifted the stigma of theft and paved the way for action against the real accused, the legal battle is not over. "We will now move the high court to seek compensation for the trauma Tuhiram suffered over the years and the financial loss he faced," he said.In its order, the court observed that Singh was "wrongly implicated because he shared his name with the real offender". The trial against the remaining four accused is ongoing before another court.