Man Climbs Water Tank In UP Town, Two Fall While Trying To Bring Him Down

Two persons are in hospital after high drama at an overhead water tank in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi, where a man climbed the tank, made bizarre demands and refused to come down for more than 12 hours. When two local residents were sent to bring him down, he pushed them off the tank. They landed hard and have been hospitalised with injuries.

Early yesterday, a man climbed the water tank on the Hardoi station premises. Later in the day, he started throwing stones at passers-by. Railway Protection Force officers reached the spot and asked the man to come down, but he refused. When the officers tried to go up, he started throwing stones and they had to abort the plan.

Firefighters were called in and tried to convince the man to come down. That did not work either and he was still there in the evening. During this time, the man asked for chicken, liquor and cash. He was provided food and also offered money, but he did not come down. The GRP eventually sent two local residents to bring him down, but soon after they caught the man, he pushed them, sending them flying off the tank. The three are now in hospital.

Railway cops then climbed up and got the man down. At the hospital, he told the media that his name is Aditya Mahato and he is from Bihar. Asked why he climbed the tank, he said a goon was chasing him and he was trying to escape him. He did not elaborate on who was chasing him and why.

The Railways authorities' move to send local residents to bring the man down has come under the scanner. Ramji Gupta, one of those injured in the incident, told the media that GRP officers asked them to climb the tank and bring the man down.

Senior officer Nripendra Kumar described the man who climbed the tank as "mentally ill". "Two people went to bring him down, and fell off the tank. They have suffered minor injuries," the officer said. 

(With inputs from Mohammed Asif)