LUCKNOW, Jan. 7 -- A late-night crackdown in Sambhal on Monday exposed what officials described as a "highly organised and technically sophisticated" electricity theft racket that relied on underground cabling and concealed distribution points to illegally supply power to dozens of homes and commercial establishments.

The illegal network came to light during a joint enforcement drive by the Purvanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL), the district administration and police, led by district magistrate Rajendra Pensiya and superintendent of police Krishna Bishnoi. What initially appeared to be routine line losses turned out to be a covert, parallel power distribution system operating beneath residential lanes.

District magistrate Raje...