Indian man suffers heart attack after receiving inflated power bill

Patna A poor villager in Bihar suffered a massive heart attack and died after he received an inflated power bill of Rs204,952 (Dh12,285).

The incident took place at Imilia village under Bhore police station in Gopalganj district on Thursday but was reported in the media on Saturday.

Reports said the victim Feku Ram, daily wage earner identified as a person living below poverty line (BPL) in the list of the government had got the power connection in 2009 for his thatched roof.

Initially, he got a power bill of Rs600 which he instantly paid but after no bill reached him he thought the government had waived off his power dues as he figured in the list of BPL families.

About a month ago, the victim received a huge power bill of over Rs200,000 with the warning to pay it up soon failing which legal action would be taken against him. The bill left the man in a quandary as he was too poor to pay. He fell sick.

Eventually, he suffered a massive heart attack on Wednesday after which he was admitted to a local government hospital where he died.

“We are trying to ascertain the facts. If the bill delivered to him was really false, it will be rectified soon,” a local senior power official Kumar Gaurav said.