SILIGURI: “Posto diye kumro bhaja chai” — a request for pumpkin fried with poppy seeds from atop a 270ft BSNL tower set off an eight-hour rescue operation in Siliguri on Wednesday night, with police deploying a drone to communicate with the youth before a team of mountaineers finally brought him down around 11.30pm.The youth was first spotted around 4pm, sitting at the top of the BSNL mobile tower at Kanchanjunga Stadium, with his legs dangling hundreds of feet above the ground. Dressed in a red-and-saffron outfit, he appeared to be in no hurry to come down.As news of the man at the top of the tower spread, crowds began gathering around the stadium. Police, fire services, Civil Defence personnel and disaster-management teams rushed to the spot.The immediate challenge was communication. From the ground, it was difficult for rescuers to speak to the youth or understand his state of mind because of the height of the structure. The Siliguri Police Commissionerate then deployed a drone to establish communication with him.The exchange, however, produced an unusual set of demands.The youth reportedly asked for ‘posto diye kumro bhaja’, or pumpkin fried with poppy seeds. At another point, he reportedly demanded a chopper ride.“Any attempt to forcibly bring him down, or any sudden movement by the youth, could have resulted in a fall from the tower. With efforts from the ground failing to convince him to descend, authorities decided to bring in experienced climbers”, said an official.Mountaineer Nehal Sarkar and his adventure team, along with Civil Defence personnel, joined the operation and began climbing the tower to reach the youth.Once they reached him, the team initially tried to talk him into coming down voluntarily. But when persuasion did not work, the rescuers switched to a more controlled plan.“The youth was secured in a stretcher-like arrangement, following which the team began the painstaking process of lowering him from the tower. The descent had to be carried out carefully, with the rescuers ensuring that he remained secure throughout the operation. Finally, around 11.30pm, nearly eight hours after he was first spotted, the youth was brought safely to the ground”, said a police officer.The rescued youth was taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for medical attention and observation.ACP (East) Rana Mukherjee said police were trying to establish the youth’s identity and determine how he managed to enter the stadium premises and gain access to the ageing BSNL tower.“We investigating the incident and were also working to ascertain the youth’s identity. The investigation has begun to trace the exact sequence of events”, said Mukherjee.The incident has also raised questions over security around the telecommunications structure and the stadium premises, particularly how the youth managed to climb a tower nearly 270ft high without being intercepted.
