BERHAMPUR: Purunakatak police in Boudh district on Thursday registered a case against an electricity meter reader for allegedly manipulating meter reading records using AI-based image editing tools.
The accused, Rajat Kumar Nayak (26) of Manikpur village under Tileswar panchayat, is engaged with Tata Power Southern Odisha Distribution Limited (TPSODL) on outsourcing basis.
Police said the meter reader was booked on the basis of a complaint lodged by TPSODL officials. IIC Ranjit Muni said Nayak has been accused of digitally altering meter reading images to suppress actual electricity consumption, resulting in incorrect billing and financial loss of around `1.74 lakh.
The alleged fraud was detected during a routine scrutiny of digital meter reading records after the monitoring system flagged unusual patterns. Preliminary investigation revealed that photographs of electricity meters were edited before being uploaded into the billing system.
According to the findings, investigators suspect that the meter number was removed from the original image while the displayed reading was digitally modified, enabling the same photograph to be reused for billing multiple consumers.
Police have launched a probe to ascertain the extent of the alleged fraud and identify any possible involvement of others.
Meanwhile, TPSODL advised its consumers to carefully verify that the meter reading mentioned in their monthly electricity bill matches the reading displayed on their electricity meter. The consumers were also urged to report any discrepancy, suspicious billing pattern, or unethical practice during meter reading to the nearest electricity office or through the helpline numbers 1912 or 1800-202-1912.
TPSODL officials said technology-driven monitoring systems and regular audits will continue to strengthen transparency, accuracy and fairness in the electricity billing process while preventing such fraudulent activities.