NewsFirst exposes major BESCOM scam: Engineers accused of illegal power connections, causing lakhs in loss

Investigative report reveals bribery, false area records, and violation of KERC norms in sanctioning electricity connections to a multi-storey building in Bengaluru’s Vasanthnagar.

A major corruption scandal has come to light in Bengaluru’s power distribution sector, with a detailed investigation by NewsFirst exposing serious irregularities and alleged bribery by senior and junior engineers of BESCOM. The report reveals how illegal electricity connections were granted to a multi-storey building in Vasanthnagar, leading to a revenue loss of several lakhs of rupees to the Energy Department.

As per Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) rules, any building exceeding 5,380 square feet or 500 square metres must compulsorily install a dedicated transformer within the premises at the owner’s expense. However, in this case, a five-storey building measuring 7,250 square feet located on 11th Main Road, Vasanthnagar, belonging to Prithviraj L M, was illegally granted a power connection using a public transformer, completely bypassing mandatory norms.

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The building’s electricity meter bears RR number W4LG74943. Despite the clear violation, officials allegedly approved the connection after deliberately under-reporting the building area as 5,286 square feet, instead of the actual 7,250 square feet, to avoid the installation of a private transformer. Even the falsely declared area still crossed the threshold that mandates transformer installation, making the approval a blatant breach of rules.

Sources indicate that the building owner should have spent ₹10-15 lakh to install a transformer inside the premises. By allowing a public transformer connection, the engineers not only benefited the owner but also caused significant financial loss to BESCOM.

The investigation names three engineers from BESCOM’s W4 subdivision who allegedly played key roles in the irregularities:

1.    Somashekhar - Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE)
2.    Anand Kumar - Assistant Engineer (AE)
3.    Lakshminarayana - Junior Engineer (JE)

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According to internal estimates, the official calculation wrongly showed the building area as 5,286 sq ft, while actual site measurements confirmed 7,250 sq ft. The false documentation enabled the engineers to approve illegal power supply, reportedly after accepting bribes.

This case directly violates KERC Order No. KERC/D/2/17-18 dated 05-06-2017 (Clause 3.1.3 A), which clearly mandates transformer installation for buildings above the prescribed limit. The scandal has raised serious questions about internal monitoring and accountability within BESCOM.

The exposé comes at a time when the Energy Department is making strong efforts to boost revenue. However, alleged corruption by engineers themselves has resulted in heavy financial losses to the utility.

NewsFirst has urged the Managing Director (MD), Chief Engineer (CE), and Superintending Engineer (SE) of BESCOM to take immediate action against the accused officials and initiate a thorough probe.

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