One killed as illegal mobile signal tower falls

A 24-year-old man was killed and another person was critically injured when an illegal mobile signal tower fell on the two youths while they were riding a motorcycle during a thunderstorm in Gurgaon, police said on Tuesday.

The mobile tower, erected illegally on the roof of a four-storey house in Sheetla Colony fell late on Monday evening during a thunderstorm.

Hemchand alias Hemant, 24, and 21-year-old Rahul, both residents of Gurgaon, were critically injured in the incident.

The police said Hemant succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital on Tuesday.

Local residents said the tower was illegal and was set up despite their objections.

"People had complained to Gurgaon deputy commissioner, police chief and municipal corporation to stop the setting up of the tower but none took any action. A complaint was also made at Haryana CM Window but to no avail," Balbir Singh, a local resident, told IANS.

The owner of the house, Anil Sharma, is a civil contractor with the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG).

"We have registered an FIR against the owner of the house and officials of the mobile tower's service provider company under sections 304A (death due to negligence) and 337 (endangering life of people) of Indian Penal Code," Shailender Shyoran, chief of sector 5 police station, told IANS.

--IANS

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