MEERUT, Feb. 1 -- A contractual lineman, fined twice in a single day for riding without a helmet, disconnected the power supply to the Bidauli police outpost under the Jhinjhana police station area in Shamli district after discovering that it was operating without a legal electricity connection. The disruption brought the functioning of the outpost to a halt. According to reports, police personnel conducting a checking drive in front of the Bidauli outpost issued a challan of Rs.1,000 to Ashu Kumar, a contractual lineman with the electricity department, for riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet on January 28 (Wednesday). When he returned via the same route about an hour later, he was issued another challan of Rs.1,000. On Friday evening, Ashu, along with a team, carried out an inspection at the outpost and found that it did not have an authorised electricity connection. Following the inspection, he explained the electricity connection rules to the police personnel at the outpost. At around 5 pm on Friday, he disconnected the power supply, plunging the outpost into darkness. Despite repeated requests from police personnel, the lineman refused to restore power and advised them to apply for a proper connection. Police personnel later said they would apply for a legal electricity connection to resolve the issue. Outpost in-charge Yogendra Singh said the challans were issued for violation of helmet rules. However, he acknowledged that the outpost did not have an official electricity connection and said the lineman disconnected the supply in accordance with regulations. He added that an application for a power connection had been submitted to the electricity department. Meanwhile, sub-divisional officer of the power department Jitendra Kumar confirmed that the police outpost lacked a valid electricity connection. He said there may have been an argument between the lineman and police personnel over the challans, following which the action was taken. "The outpost personnel have applied for an electricity connection. Power will be restored once the connection is formally approved," he said....