In a bizarre event, police had to offer Rs. 5,000 to a mentally unsound youth to persuade him to get down from a tree, which he had climbed on Monday and threatened to jump to his death.
The youth had climbed a mango tree near the TV tower in J.C. Nagar around noon.
Passersby noticed him. Soon, police arrived.
They summoned a team from the Fire and Emergency Services.
S. Ramesh Kumar, police inspector of J.C. Nagar, said, “We tried to convince the youth to get down the tree. But he was not coherent and communication was also difficult. The drama lasted for nearly three hours before he was rescued.” The rescue team used a ladder to climb up the tree and tried to reason with the youth. “But as we tried to approach him, he threatened to jump off.
“He said he has no money for treatment. We gave him Rs. 5,000 for his medical expenses and convinced him that we would get him treated. Only then did he come down,” said a member of the team.
Who the youth is
The youth, Mahesh (27), is a resident of Mandya. He told the police that he was being treated at Nimhans. He was immediately rushed to Nimhans.
Mr. Ramesh Kumar said that they had tracked down his family in Mandya. His mother informed that her son is mentally unsound and is under psychiatric care. He had left the house two days ago without informing anyone.
The incident led to traffic snarls in J.C. Nagar for around two hours as people gathered around the tree which the youth had climbed.
