Villagers tie technician to cell tower after two years of bad service, but their protest backfires
Their unusual attempt to get better 5G service ended with police at the tower and six villagers in custody.
Most kidnappers demand money, but a group of frustrated villagers in India seemed to have a different ransom in mind: better 5G reception. After reportedly enduring two years of unreliable cell service, residents tied a technician to a communications tower and refused to release him until his superiors arrived to fix the problem.
The bizarre protest unfolded in Hardauli village in Uttar Pradesh after a Jio technician arrived to inspect the area’s network problems. Residents had had enough of dropped connections, so they decided to make sure the technician wasn’t going anywhere until the problem was solved. As reported by Al Jazeera, footage from the scene shows him restrained against the tower as villagers explain their unusual terms for his release.
Unfortunately for them, holding a technician “hostage” isn’t covered by most troubleshooting guides. Police eventually arrived, freed the man, and took six villagers into custody. Apparently, that’s what happens when tech support goes down, and the police have to bring him back online.
The ransom was supposedly better reception
According to Al Jazeera, one villager said residents had been dealing with the network problem for two years. “There is no network, even when there is electricity,” he explained, claiming service remained unavailable despite repeated frustration over the issue.
“We’ve tied him up because of the issue, ok?” the resident continued. He said they planned to keep the technician restrained until his superiors arrived, adding, “Until they come, we won’t let him go.”
No cash, getaway car, or suspicious duffel bag was required. The villagers’ terms were more modern and lightweight: send the bosses and fix the signal. Unfortunately, the technician had become the human equivalent of being put on hold.
Granted, two years is a long time to spend fighting a phone provider. One AT&T customer similarly spent two years disputing charges on her cellphone plan, although her escalation strategy thankfully involved a lot less rope.
Residents may have been trying to escalate an understandably frustrating complaint, but restraining the person sent to inspect the problem isn’t exactly the best way to reach customer service. Their two-year battle with poor reception was about to acquire a much stronger signal from local authorities.
Their signal finally reached the police
Fatehpur Police said it learned about the situation through social media after residents made a video of the incident. In an official post on September 12, authorities described the technician as having been held “hostage” before they responded to the village and freed him.
Six locals were subsequently taken into custody. According to local reports, they faced accusations including wrongful confinement and breach of peace, while the technician also filed a complaint about the ordeal. Hostage situations can start over something as simple as fighting over a phone password, but this one began with a bad signal.
After two years of demanding better cell service, the villagers finally got a connection that didn’t drop. Unfortunately, it was with the police. Evidently, one of the things worse than having no bars on your cellphone is risking being behind bars.
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