Belagavi (Karnataka), Sep 25 Karnataka Legislative Council member Channaraj Hattiholi was on Friday accused of assaulting two HESCOM officials after allegedly summoning them to his residence here, officials said.
Hattiholi, the brother of former Karnataka Minister and MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar, however, denied the allegation, saying he had not assaulted the officials but had merely advised them on their duties.
Hubli Electricity Supply Company Limited (HESCOM) Assistant Executive Engineer Deepak D and Section Officer Raju Chavan approached the APMC police station to lodge a complaint against Hattiholi, alleging that he had assaulted them.
Following the incident, several HESCOM employees gathered outside the police station and staged a protest, demanding action against the MLC. The protesters later dispersed after police assured them that an FIR would be registered.
According to Deepak, a stone crusher in Tarihal village in Belagavi taluk had outstanding electricity dues of Rs 77,360 for nearly three months. As the dues remained unpaid, HESCOM disconnected the power supply to the crusher on Thursday.
Deepak alleged that a person identified as Mahantesh Hiremath subsequently asked the officials to come to the MLC’s residence in Kuvempu Nagar at around 9.30 am on Friday.
“When we went there as instructed, we were called inside around 11 am. Hattiholi questioned us about the disconnection of the power supply and verbally abused us. He then assaulted both me and Raju Chavan,” he claimed.
He said HESCOM officials were duty-bound to recover outstanding dues and that the power supply was being disconnected even in cases where consumers had relatively small arrears.
Rejecting the allegations, Hattiholi said around 50-60 farmers and several crusher owners had come to meet him after he returned to Belagavi following the Assembly session.
“The farmers had come with grievances relating to uninterrupted power supply and transformer load issues. There was also a complaint regarding the disconnection of power supply to a crusher. I told the officials that a notice should be served and that the connection could be disconnected if the dues were not paid,” he said.
Hattiholi said he had instructed HESCOM officials to replace transformers within the stipulated time in accordance with government directions.
“I have been in politics for 15 years and have never used abusive or unconstitutional language. Neither my family nor I would indulge in such acts. I did not assault anyone. I spoke to the HESCOM officials for only about five minutes,” he said.
The MLC said he could not understand why the officials had levelled such allegations and suggested that there may have been a misunderstanding.
“There is nothing wrong with HESCOM disconnecting power supply in cases of non-payment of dues, and the department also has a responsibility to recover outstanding bills. I will discuss the matter with the officials and try to resolve the misunderstanding,” Hattiholi said.
The stone crusher is reportedly owned by Pramod Jadhav, who is said to be a close associate of Hattiholi.
(PTI News)
