PALAKKAD: A youth who became an online sensation after being rescued from a hill crevice near Malampuzha by defence personnel has stirred social media again — this time, for the wrong reasons.
R Babu, 23, has come underflak after a video of him screaming, hurling abuses and telling his friends that he wanted to die went viral on Thursday.
Throughout the video, Babu is seen disturbed, disoriented. He reportedly abuses his mother, who tries to persuade him. His friends try to restrain him, pinning him down to the ground. They also offer him water to drink and pour some over his head. When contacted, Babu’s brother Shaji told TNIE that the incident had happened on Wednesday and that his friends recorded and posted the video it on social media to defame him.
Shaji said after Babu was discharged from the hospital, the physicians and psychiatrists had advised him to rest for a week. But he did not get adequate rest and was left mentally disturbed. Babu was taunted by his friends after the trekking mishap, Shaji added. They claimed he had got some funds, and pestered him for money. Shaji alleged the incident seen in the video was a minor one blown out of proportion by his friends, who wanted to show Babu in poor light.
It was on February 7 that Babu climbed 1,000 feet up the Kurumbachi hills along with three friends. While the others returned, he was stuck in a rock cleft after a fall and was rescued after 45 hours. The state government had sought the services of the Air Force and the Army for his rescue. A total of 70 rescue personnel, including a 32-member Army team and a 20-member NDRF team, took part in the rescue operation. Babu was then airlifted to the Beml ground in Kanjikode from where he was taken in an ambulance to the district hospital. He was discharged two days later.