Kasaragod (Kerala) | A man, allegedly angered by the disconnection of electricity to his house for non-payment of bills, removed the fuses of seven transformers, causing a power outage in parts of Kasaragod town, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) officials said on Saturday.

The disruption occurred around 6.45 pm on Friday, affecting Kasaragod town and nearby areas.

“Within minutes, we received numerous calls reporting the outage. But when we checked the lines, there were no issues,” a KSEB official told PTI.

Later, during an inspection of the transformers, officials found that the fuses had been removed.

“When we searched the area, the fuses were found abandoned near the transformers. Some were damaged, so we had to use spare fuses to restore the electricity by 8 pm,” the official added.

Residents told KSEB staff that they had seen a man removing the fuses.

The suspect is a resident under the Nellikuzi section, the KSEB official said.

“The same man had come to the section office earlier and created a scene after his power supply was disconnected for non-payment of bills,” the official said.

Based on the information, the police took him into custody for questioning.

According to police officials, the man claimed to have mental health issues and was living with his aged father.

Police said they would decide on registering a case once KSEB files an official complaint.

KSEB officials said they would submit the complaint on Saturday, as several fuses were damaged and the incident caused an outage lasting over an hour.