After bridge, now a mobile tower! Bihar’s 40-metre tall theft mystery stuns locals

A mobile tower does not usually vanish without a trace, but that is what officials found in Dumraon in Bihar's Buxar district, where a 40-metre-tall structure, a 15 kVA diesel generator and other telecom equipment were allegedly stolen, prompting a police investigation. The case came to light when officials of GTL Infrastructure Limited visited the site to inspect and reactivate the tower, which had remained non-operational for several years because of technical reasons.

When the team reached the site, it found that the structure was no longer standing and that only an empty plot remained. According to a report by The Times of India, the disappearance of the tower and the associated equipment has left both telecom officials and local residents puzzled, with police now trying to establish how such a large structure was dismantled and removed without attracting attention.

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Baijnath Ojha, the company's land and operations officer, lodged a complaint at Dumraon police station. He said the tower had been installed on land owned by Harinath Yadav in Ward No. 18. Yadav said his agreement with the company expired in 2022 and alleged that he had not received any payments since 2017. He said he had sent several legal notices to the company after the agreement ended but received no response. He denied any role in the tower's disappearance and said he was unaware of how it had gone missing.

During a detailed inspection, company officials found that not only the tower but also the diesel generator and other telecom equipment had disappeared. Local residents expressed astonishment over the incident. They said thefts of batteries, cables and smaller telecom components were not uncommon, but the disappearance of an entire mobile tower pointed to the possible involvement of a highly organised gang.

Preliminary findings suggest the operation was carefully planned. Investigators believe dismantling and transporting a 40-metre structure would have required heavy machinery, technical expertise and a sizeable workforce. They also suspect that the operation could not have been completed in a single day and likely took several days.

Dumraon SDPO Polast Kumar said on Friday that a complaint had been received and that a case had been registered. He said the police were carrying out a detailed investigation to ascertain the facts and identify those responsible.

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The incident has also drawn attention because Bihar saw a similar case in 2022, when a gang posing as government officials allegedly dismantled and stole a 60-foot, 500-tonne iron bridge in Rohtas district. According to the report, the bridge was taken apart over three days with gas cutters and earth-moving machines, while villagers believed the work was part of an official government project. In the Dumraon case, police are now investigating the disappearance of the mobile tower, the generator and other equipment, along with the circumstances in which they were removed.