Dhenkanal: There was a stir in Odisha’s Dhonkanal town on Saturday when a former OSAP constable climbed a mobile tower and demanded government help for the treatment of his cancer-stricken mother along with reinstatement of his job. This incident took place at a mobile tower located near the Town Police Station, where teams of police, administration and fire service were busy for hours to bring it down safely.
The protester has been identified as Rudra Narayan Das, a resident of Sogar village of Kamakhyanagar police station area. Rudra’s complaint was that he was unjustly fired from his job and despite repeated appeals, he was not heard. Due to this anger, he climbed the tower and started protesting.
According to the information, Rudra Narayan Das was appointed as constable in the 1st OSAP Battalion in September 2018. It was told that his health had deteriorated during training, due to which he was given medical rest. When he later returned to duty, he was reportedly removed from service.
Rudra said that his mother is suffering from cancer and the financial condition of the family has become very bad. After losing his job, he appealed to many places, from the district administration, departmental officials, Chief Minister’s office to the President, but did not get any relief from anywhere. Troubled by this, he took this step.
As soon as the news of climbing the tower was received in the morning, there was chaos in the area. Police, fire service and administrative officials immediately reached the spot. Many senior officers including ADM, Additional SP, Sub-Collector, Tehsildar and SDPO were present at the spot. The officers kept talking to Rudra and trying to calm him down.
threatened to set myself on fire
The situation became more serious when Rudra allegedly showed two petrol bottles kept with him and threatened that if any attempt was made to force him down, he would pour petrol on himself and set himself on fire. After this the rescue operation became more challenging.
In view of the incident, a large-scale rescue operation was started. Teams from ODRAF, Angul fire department and Bhubaneswar fire service were also called to the spot. A safety net was installed below the tower and an attempt was made to reach Rudra with the help of a high platform airlift machine. However, due to Rudra’s attempts to spread petrol several times, the teams had to step back to avoid any major accident.
During this high voltage drama that lasted for about 15 hours, police officers, friends and acquaintances kept on trying to console Rudra. Eventually, due to the intense heat in the evening and staying at the tower for a long time, Rudra’s health started deteriorating. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law also talked to him and some assurances were given by the administration, after which he agreed to come down.
The fire service team brought them down safely with the help of high platform machine. Soon after, he was taken by ambulance to Dhenkanal District Headquarters Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. His condition is currently said to be stable and he has been kept under medical observation. (Shubham Kumar reports from Odisha)
