Authorities in Bihar's Buxar district are investigating the audacious theft of an entire 40-meter mobile tower, a 15 kVA diesel generator, and associated telecom equipment from a site in Dumraon. The disappearance, discovered by officials from GTL Infrastructure Limited, has left both company representatives and local residents baffled.
The incident came to light when a team from GTL Infrastructure Limited visited the site to reactivate the tower, which had been non-operational for several years. Instead of finding the towering structure, they found an empty plot of land where it once stood. Baijnath Ojha, the company's land and operations officer, promptly filed a complaint at the Dumraon police station.
Investigation Points to Organized Crime
Police, led by Dumraon SDPO Polast Kumar, have registered a case and launched a detailed investigation. Preliminary findings suggest that the theft was no petty crime but a sophisticated, well-planned operation. Dismantling and transporting a 40-meter structure, along with heavy machinery like a diesel generator, would have required significant technical expertise, heavy equipment, a substantial workforce, and likely several days to complete without drawing attention.
Local residents expressed their astonishment, noting that while minor thefts of batteries or cables are not uncommon, the complete disappearance of a mobile tower points to the involvement of a highly organized criminal gang.
Land Dispute and Prior Incidents
The tower had been installed on land owned by Harinath Yadav in Ward No. 18. Yadav stated that his agreement with GTL Infrastructure Limited expired in 2022 and alleged that he had not received payments since 2017. He claimed to have sent several legal notices to the company after the agreement ended but received no response. Yadav denies any involvement in the tower's disappearance, stating he was unaware of how it went missing.
This brazen theft draws parallels to a similar incident in Bihar in 2022, when a gang, posing as government officials, dismantled and stole a 60-foot, 500-tonne iron bridge in the Rohtas district over three days, using gas cutters and earth-moving machines. Villagers at the time believed the work was part of an official government project.
Investigators are now working to ascertain all the facts and identify those responsible for the theft of the Dumraon mobile tower and its equipment, considering the potential involvement of the landowner's dispute and the sophisticated nature of the operation.