Nagpur: A 20-year-old Chhattisgarh youth climbed a 60-foot-high mobile tower near Ahimsa Chowk close to the MLA Hostel on Tuesday morning and continued a four-hour-long drama, clamouring for ‘ghar pe izzat hona’ or respect from family at home, before he was brought down.The bizarre drama, often referred as ‘Veerugiri’ from the ‘Sholay’ blockbuster, concluded after the fire brigade team managed to coax the man, Kishor alias Moni Sinha, to relent and escorted him down. Cops from Sitabuldi and Ambazari police stations too reached the site, where traffic crawled and hundreds of inquisitive visitors gathered at the spot.Kishor landed in Nagpur a couple of days ago from Chhattisgarh after a standoff with his parents, who had urged him to work and earn his living, said police sources.The 20-year-old chose the mobile tower in the heart of the city to express his angst. Passers-by spotted him and word spread fast, creating a tense scene in the busy area. Police, fire brigade personnel and an ambulance reached the spot after receiving an SOS.Firefighters began the rescue mission. Every time they tried to get close, Kishor moved farther away, making him precariously poised on the tower.“The tower’s height made it difficult for officers on the ground to hear what he was saying. His restless and disturbed state was clear from the beginning,” said a fire brigade official.Police, under Zonal DCP Annapurna Singh, first tried to talk him down and win his trust instead of rushing in.As Kishor belonged to Chhattisgarh, locals who spoke the Chhattisgarhi dialect were called to help. They spoke to him and tried to calm him. While firemen prepared ropes and equipment, police and citizens kept speaking to him from below. After nearly four hours of effort, the team finally brought him down safely.Police said, initial interrogation revealed, the man was also upset about a theft of his belongings. “His elder brother told police on phone that he had, of late, started displaying symptoms of mental illness and had left home in a huff,” said senior inspector Vinod Godbole of Ambazari police station. “His family is in Raipur. They have left for Nagpur. We will produce him in court and hand him over to the family,” said the police inspector, adding the man may be starving and mentally unsettled.Flees custodyAmbazari police took Kishor into custody after the four-hour drama and brought him to the police station around 3pm. Following a medical examination, police allowed him to sit outside the station as his elder brother was on his way to Nagpur to take him home.However, at around 9.30pm, Kishor fled from the police station. Sources said he ran towards a nullah adjoining the police station. Policemen gave chase but failed to catch him.“He was not locked up as his mental condition appeared unstable. We are still searching for him,” Senior PI Vinod Godbole said.
