Six villagers were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district for allegedly tying a telecom technician to a mobile tower after residents protested prolonged 5G network outage, a senior police official said on Friday (September 11, 2026).
A video purportedly showing the technician, identified as Aditya Bhan Singh, tied to the tower and surrounded by villagers surfaced on social media, following which police reached Hardauli village in the Bindki area on Thursday (September 10) and rescued him.
Superintendent of Police (Fatehpur) Abhimanyu Manglik told PTI that Mr. Singh had gone to the village regarding a mobile network issue when some residents allegedly detained him and tied him to the tower, demanding that the 5G connectivity problem be resolved.
“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,” the SP said.
They alleged that the network frequently remained unavailable even when electricity was available, affecting calls and internet access, he said.
The SP said villagers claimed that residents had been paying for 5G services without any significant improvement in connectivity.
In the purported video, a villager is heard saying the technician would not be released until senior company officials arrived and addressed the problem.
Police registered an FIR against unidentified villagers on Mr. Singh’s complaint on Friday (September 11) and subsequently arrested Rahul Patel (28), Suraj Yadav (21), Alok Patel (29), Yogendra Patel (36), Alok Yadav (31) and Sachin Patel (30), the SP told PTI.
The six were produced before a magistrate and later released on bail, police said. The SP said the investigation is underway.
Published – September 12, 2026 01:29 pm IST
