India, May 10 -- At least 21 individuals were caught stealing a combined electricity load of 53.54 kiloWatt (kW) across Gautam Budh Nagar during two joint enforcement drives on Thursday night, officials said on Friday.

The raids, jointly conducted by two teams from the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) and the Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), targeted areas fed by the 33/11 kV substations at Bankapur and Bishnoli.

In the first operation, an enforcement team conducted early morning checks in Kanpur village within the Rabupura police station limits. "A total of 12 premises were found involved in electricity theft during the inspection," an official said.

Those identified include Rahul (2kW), Satpal (2kW), Ga...