BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPARA: A man climbed atop the Parija Library of Utkal University and created a ruckus, keeping the authorities, police, firemen and students on tenterhooks for over five hours on Friday. Seven attempts and after much cajoling, the firemen were able to bring him down his precarious perch on the 65-foot high dome of the library.
The man from Praharajpur in Kendrapara district was spotted atop the library by some persons in the morning. On being informed, library authorities alerted Odisha Fire Service personnel, who reached the spot around 10.30 am. He had stripped off his clothes and perched himself on the edge of the open roof, threatening to jump off every time the firemen made an attempt to reach him using a hydraulic lift.
They, though, were able to supply food and water to him. He demanded to meet the Vice Chancellor following which Chief Fire Officer Sukanta Sethy impersonated as the authority and tried to persuade him to get down but in vain. During this time, a man identified as Dilip Bhanja, present at the spot, informed police that he knew him. The rescue team comprising Saheed Nagar IIC Biranchi Pati and firemen took Bhanja to the top of the structure to speak to Barik.
Taking the opportunity, lead fireman Kashyap Patnaik jumped to the roof and overpowered him. He was brought down to safety and rushed to the Capital Hospital and later referred to SCB Medical, Cuttack. Bhanja said he was his friend’s brother-in-law. “He had come to his aunt’s house in Bhubaneswar and went missing in the last week of October. We had also approached police in this regard,” he said. He was a former student of Utkal University. He is married and has a child.
Jobless after being dismissed from postal service three years back, he is said to have been suffering from mental problems. He used to work as a Gramin Dak Sevak mail carrier from 2001. But he was admitted to SCBMCH in Cuttack for treatment of mental illness in 2016.
As he was undergoing treatment, he asked another person of his village to act as a proxy without authorities’ knowledge. When the person died of heart attack in 2017, no mails were delivered for a week. On learning about the fraud, he was sacked from service.
His father Krushna Chandra said "My son requested the authorities many times to reinstate him but they did not pay any heed as a result he tried to end his life. He has a two year old daughter. He is the only earning member of our family and we are facing financial problems after he was dismissed from his job."
Assistant postmaster of Kendrapara head post office said he was dismissed three years back for violation of service rules. Later, Minister of State for Home Dibya Shankar Mishra felicitated the fire services team for the rescue operation.