SUKKUR: An enraged shopkeeper stabbed to death an officer of the Sukkur Electric Power Company on Saturday when he cut off electricity connection to his shop despite the fact he had cleared his bill that very day.

Sepco Subdivision-I line superintendent, Faheem Samejo, and members of his team were inspecting electricity connections and checking bills when Hasnain Qureshi, owner of a garment shop in Mehran Markaz, flew into a rage and attacked Samejo with scissors and knife, causing him fatal injuries. The suspect fled after the attack, said witnesses.

Samejo succumbed to his wounds before he could be shifted to Sukkur Civil Hospital.

The area’s shopkeepers told media persons that Sepco officers and the suspect had had had an altercation a day before over nonpayment of his shop’s electricity bill, which came to around Rs10,000.

They said that on Saturday the shop owner had paid the bill yet the Sepco team cut off his electricity connection because they [Sepco officers] just wanted him to pay them bribe.

Sources in Sepco put the blame for such incidents on lack of accountability and unchecked use of authority at senior level of management, which had created a dangerous gap between the utility’s field teams and general public.

Instead of implementing structural reforms or providing field teams with security and legal backing, the top management continued to overlook the mounting tensions between consumers and company officers, they said.

Members of civil society, employee unions and rights groups condemned the incident, demanding immediate action against not only the murderer of the Sepco officer but also against the persistent failures of senior officers.

They urged the federal government and the ministries concerned to launch an impartial investigation into the murder and introduce stringent reforms to ensure accountability of officers, safety for field staff and justice for victims on both sides.

Sepco employees hold protest

Soon after the incident, a large number of Wapda officials staged a demonstration outside A-Section police station, demanding immediate arrest of the suspected killer of their colleague.

When the body was handed over to heirs after completion of post mortem examination, the protesters and members of the bereaved family placed it before Sukkur Press Club and raised slogans against police’s failure to arrest the main suspect.

The area’s police said that they had mounted a search for the fleeing shopkeeper and would arrest him soon.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2025