A video showing a burning mobile tower has gone viral with the false claim that it shows telecommunications company, Reliance Jio’s mobile tower burning in Punjab.
This comes amid allegations by the protesting farmers that the new farm laws were made to favour business giants like Mukesh Ambani, which reportedly resulted in vandalism of mobile towers in Punjab.
The viral video, however, is three years old, of an incident that took place in Dehradun, where a mobile tower had caught fire due to a short-circuit.
CLAIM
The video was shared with the claim that a Jio tower was burnt in Punjab as part of the protesting farmers’ bid to boycott Jio.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT
A reverse image search led us to an article by Amar Ujala, carrying stills from the viral video, dated 28 June 2017.
The article states that a mobile tower had caught fire on the roof of a resident of Ankit Puram on GMS Road in Dehradun.
We also found the video in a report by News18 Hindi.
The report further states that the fire was a result of a short-circuit and was controlled with the help of locals and the fire brigade.
While the viral video is from Dehradun and of an old incident, 1,561 mobile towers were vandalised in Punjab, allegedly in support of the farmers’ protest, resulting in the disruption of telecom services in the state.
This prompted Reliance Jio Infocomm and The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) to write separate letters to the District General Police and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, asking for intervention and strict police action to be taken against those who are vandalising the towers.
On Monday, 28 December, Singh directed strict police action against the vandalism, stating that the state would not allow any damage to property or public inconvenience.
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