The oddest incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district after village leaders forced a telecom technician to tie himself to a mobile tower during a protest over persistent network problems.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening, September 10, 2026, in Hardauli village. The village residents had been complaining about poor mobile connectivity for almost two years despite a private telecom company's infrastructure in the village.
Technician held for around two hours.
The technician was identified as Adityabhan Singh, a resident of Basawanpur (Aung). He visited Hardauli on Thursday evening to check the power supply at the telecom installation, he said, according to sources.
According to his complaint, a group of villagers approached him and engaged in an argument over the continuing network problems. The situation was described as getting worse and the technician was taken hostage and tied to the mobile tower for almost two hours.
A video of the incident was posted on social media later on.
Poor Connectivity Frustrates Residents
According to the village authorities, unreliable connectivity is affecting everyday activities, such as telephone calls and internet access. Villagers reported to authorities that they were paying high mobile recharge charges and getting poor network service. They said that the tower had been installed around two years earlier with the hope that it would solve the village’s connectivity problems. But the network problems continued, they said.
The episode underlines how increasingly dependent rural communities are on mobile networks for communication, digital services and financial transactions.
Fatehpur villagers tie Jio employee to tower over poor 5G network💀😭 pic.twitter.com/dokrPZQaii
— Ghar Ke Kalesh (@gharkekalesh) September 11, 2026
Police Rescue Technician, Register FIR
Police were notified after another villager informed authorities. Emergency response personnel were called to the location and Singh was freed from the villagers.
The technician approached the police. An FIR was registered at Bindki police station against unidentified villagers under Section 127(2) of BNS, according to the Times of India. Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Was the stunt suggested by the Technician?
One of the unusual aspects of the case is how the incident started.
The Times of India claimed that the technician himself suggested that villagers tie him to the tower so that their complaints could reach senior officials of the telecom company. This has been a reported claim and has not been independently verified.
