LUCKNOW, July 27 -- Energy minister AK Sharma on Sunday ordered the immediate suspension of Basti superintending engineer Prashant Singh after an audio clip of a phone conversation with a consumer surfaced on social media, alleging inappropriate conduct.

The conversation involved Singh and Bharat Pandey, a retired additional commissioner from Moodghat, Basti, over a local power outage. In the clip, Singh is heard making references to political figures, including Ramji Lal Suman, Raj Babbar, SP Singh Baghel, and Baby Rani Maurya, claiming them as his relatives or close friends.

Following the viral clip, Sharma directed Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (PVVNL) managing director Shambhu Kumar to suspend Singh with immediate effect. Durin...