A village outraged at poor 5G connectivity allegedly tied up a technician sent to fix the signal issues.
The worker, named locally as Aditya Bhan Singh, was tied and bound with cables to a mobile tower in the village of Hardauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur.
Police described the dispute as related to connectivity issues, with villagers having to make do with unstable 4G despite paying for 5G for over two years.
Locals were angry that not enough had been done to improve the signal despite frequent complaints.
Villagers reportedly confronted Singh when he arrived to fix the issues, and complained about the private telecom tower at the centre of their anger.
It is alleged they threatened not to untie Singh until officials from the network provider solved the problem, but he was soon released.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Five people have since reportedly been charged with unlawful confinement and disturbing public order.
The confrontation was reported to the police after a video showing Singh being tied up was widely shared online.
According to the Times of India, Superintendent of Fatehpur Police, Abhimanyu Manglik, said: ‘Villagers claimed the area had been facing poor mobile connectivity, particularly 5G services, for nearly two years despite a private telecom tower being installed there.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.