New Delhi, Jul 24 (IANS): The police arrested two men on Wednesday for extorting money from BSES customers by impersonating as members of

the discom's vigilance team.

The two accused were identified as Brijesh Sharma (30) and Sanjay Kumar (43), both residents of Delhi. They were nabbed near M.B. Road.

Sharma was previously found to be involved in a similar case in R.K. Puram, police said, adding they are verifying if the two

were involved in other cases as well.

The police said the two had deployed their own sources to gather information on faulty meters. They would visit residential and commercial buildings and check the meters, posing as BSES vigilance officials. They also threatened customers about real or imaginary faults in their meters to extort money.

"The accused then would seize the installed electricity meters and ask customers to pay a hefty fine," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), Vijay Kumar.

Police said fearing the penalty, most people settled the matter by paying a bribe.

"If a customer refused to pay, the accused would seize the meter to return it a few days later. Most people did not file police complaints and chose to pay up. However, some of the customers filed FIRs about meter theft," said Kumar.

Fake identity cards of BSES, 42 broken seals of electricity meters, one stolen meter, equipment used for breaking the seal and removing meter, documents, three mobile phones, a car and a motorcycle have been seized from the accused, police said.