Frustrated by relentless power cuts and worsening grid instability, residents in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh resorted to an unusual form of protest against local utility authorities. A large group of villagers converged on the Katra Bazar electricity substation carrying copies of the Hanuman Chalisa, a revered Hindu devotional hymn, demanding accountability from utility staff over severe energy shortages that have crippled daily life in the district.

The demonstration unfolded as tensions boiled over regarding persistent blackouts that local communities claim have left them with dangerously erratic electricity supplies for nearly half a year. Footage circulating widely on social media captures the charged atmosphere at the facility, where local residents surrounded the junior engineer on duty. Eyewitness accounts and video evidence show the crowd pressing the official to place his hand on the sacred text and swear truthfully about the exact daily duration of electricity transmission to their local feeder line.

Protesters asserted that despite adequate electricity generation and storage capacity within the regional grid, local distribution lines serving their villages were being deliberately throttled. Residents documented that their communities had endured a drastic reduction in power availability, receiving an average of less than two hours of electricity per day over the preceding six months. This chronic lack of power has severely disrupted local agriculture, small businesses, student studies, and basic household routines during sweltering weather conditions.

The confrontation has since triggered formal legal fallout for the participants involved. Adarsh Kumar Ojha, the junior engineer targeted during the protest, subsequently lodged a formal police complaint at the local station naming roughly a dozen unidentified individuals. His official statement alleges that the gathering obstructed public servants from executing their duties, vandalised official paperwork, hurled verbal abuse at utility personnel, and issued direct threats to their lives.

Manoj Pathak, the station house officer at Katra Bazar police station, confirmed that law enforcement authorities became aware of the incident after the confrontation video gained traction online. Police have formally registered the complaint filed by the electricity department and initiated a comprehensive inquiry to verify the sequence of events before determining appropriate legal measures.