27 March,2026 12:56 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
The incident took place in January 2020 at the MSEDCL’s Diva office. Representational Pic
A Thane court has sentenced a 36-year-old woman to one year of simple imprisonment for assaulting an official of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) during a dispute over an electricity bill, reported PTI.
In his judgment dated March 20, a copy of which was made available on Friday, Additional Sessions Judge (Thane) R S Bhakare also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on the convict, Jyotsna Mohan Pawar.
The incident took place in January 2020 at the MSEDCL's Diva office, when Pawar approached the office with a complaint about an "excess" electricity bill.
When assistant engineer Shashikant Udugade informed her that the meter linked to the bill was functioning correctly and asked her to pay the arrears, Pawar allegedly became enraged.
She abused, pushed, and assaulted the official, the prosecution said, the news agency reported.
Though Pawar claimed she was being falsely implicated to cover up alleged manhandling by the official himself, the court dismissed her arguments due to a lack of evidence.
In the order, Judge Bhakare emphasised the need to protect public servants to ensure administrative efficiency.
"For better efficiency of public servants, they must have safety and security. Certainly, if public servants are provided a free and fair environment, their efficiency in carrying out public work will improve," the court said, PTI reported.
The court further observed that if the accused was not satisfied with the redressal provided, she should have approached higher authorities or taken legal recourse.
While the accused had the right to seek redressal, she could not take the law into her own hands, the court said while sentencing Pawar to one year in jail.
Earlier in March, police in Thane district of Maharashtra invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against four men accused of assaulting a local resident and injuring a police officer
The case was registered on Monday in connection with an incident that occurred on March 1 in the Kalwa East area.
According to police, the accused - Swapnil Madhvani, also known as Babu Kharkataya, and Sushil Kamble, alias Natya Bhai, along with their associates Bilal and Raju - allegedly attacked a man identified as Shafikul Sheikh, as per the PTI.
An official from Kalwa police station said one of the accused reportedly brandished a knife in a public area, issuing threats and challenging anyone to lodge a complaint.
When officers attempted to apprehend the suspects, one of them allegedly attacked a policeman and slashed his right thumb with a blade.
The injured officer received medical attention, police confirmed.
(With PTI inputs)
