Netravali villagers decry power dept for filing ‘false complaint’ against dy sarpanch

Team Herald

SANGUEM: The Netravali villagers, panchas and Sarpanch Rajani Gaonkar have strongly decried the Assistant Electrical Engineer K M Sashi for, what they claimed as, filing false the police complaint against Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Desai and two other villagers.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the villagers claimed that the engineer falsely complained that the trio threatened and assaulted the linesman on duty at Wadem substation.

Sarpanch Gaonkar criticised the electricity department for its complete failure to provide regular power supply to the village. Claiming that there was power failure in the village every alternate day, Gaonkar sought to know from the officials as to whom to complain in the event of power failure as the officials are now getting habituated to file false complaints if questioned by the villagers.

Further Gaonkar informed that the villagers of Netravali have to remain in dark on important festive days. Even during Ganesh festival there has been power supply problem in the village, Gaonkar claimed.

They asserted that the alleged incident of assault on linesman on duty never took place.

The villagers also sought to know from the department officials as to why the complaint was lodged six days after the alleged incident. 

Deputy Sarpanch Abhijit Desai also denied assaulting or threatening the officials on duty. Desai informed that he had only questioned the department officials over the frequent power supply problems in the village.

Desai alleged that he has been framed to defame him. Desai also denied having any brawl with the officials on duty on the night of October 5. He said that they had gone there only to get the contact numbers of the higher officials to complain over the frequent power failures in the village.

Following the complaint, Desai and two other villagers were arrested by Sanguem police on Thursday under Sections 353 and 506 of Indian Penal Code and were subsequently released on bail by the Sanguem court.

Incidentally, the offence was allegedly committed on October 5, but the complaint was lodged six days later.

Sashi had complained that Desai and two other villagers -- Ulhas Gaus and Harshad Prabhudesai – assaulted and obstructed the linesman on duty at Wadem substation which looks after the power supply to Netravali village.