Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A driver from the West Discom vigilance wing was caught red-handed while allegedly extorting money from a hotel manager in the Vijay Nagar area on Friday. Initially mistaken for imposters, the individual was later confirmed to be legitimate employee of the power distribution company. He came there to collect Rs 2,000 following an action taken on December 30, 2024 on the hotel under suspicion of electricity theft.
According to information, on December 30, three employees from the vigilance team Mohan Bairagi, Zubair and Ankit of West Disom visited Hotel A-Five in Vijay Nagar to inspect the electricity meter.
(left) Car in which the accused Mohan arrived at the hotel to collect money; (right) Discom vigilance department driver Mohan Bairagi. |
Accusing the hotel of electricity theft, they demanded Rs 75,000 to avoid filing a legal case. The hotel manager handed over the amount but grew suspicious after contacting the company’s headquarters and learning that no inspection team had been dispatched. When one of the employees returned on Friday evening to collect an additional Rs 2,000, the hotel staff detained him and called the police. The individual, identified as Mohan Bairagi, turned out to be the driver of Assistant Engineer Vikas Singh from the vigilance wing.
He had arrived in an official vehicle and confessed that two other employees, Zubair and Ankit, were part of the extortion. Mohan also revealed that Vikas Singh was present in the car during the operation on December 30 but did not directly participate. The hotel owner provided the police with recorded phone conversations and CCTV footage, which corroborated the allegations. However, the DISCOM higher officials are investigating the matter and finding out what actually happened on the day of the incident.
