Tension prevailed in Raichur on Wednesday after Sanket who was among the students participating in an indefinite protest launched a week ago on agriculture university campus here demanding 40 % quota for agriculture engineering candidates in jobs under the Agriculture Department climbed a mobile phone tower and refused to climb down until the demands were fulfilled.
It was only after intervention by P.M. Salimath, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, B. Shushila and Lokesh, probationary IAS and IPS officers, L.B. Agni, Police Sub-Inspector attached to Raichur West Police Station, who continuously had discussions with him on his cellphone for over an hour, he climbed down.
The police said that Sanket, a student of the third semester of Agriculture Bio-tech, has been admitted to the Raichur Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) for medical examination.
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Later, he gave in writing that he had no intention of committing suicide. But, only wanted to bring the issue to the notice of the top officials and help solve the problem, a senior police officer quoted him as saying in the letter.
According to eyewitnesses, the student created tension by climbing the tower, which is around 200 ft high, and staying there for over an hour
Traffic movement was disrupted as anxious passers-by stopped at the protest venue to know what was happening. A few also captured the incident on their cellphones.
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When contacted, Mr. Salimath told The Hindu over phone from Bengaluru that after the incident, he met Krishna Byre Gowda, Agriculture Minister, and explained the situation to him briefly.
Mr. Salimath said that the Minister suggested holding a meeting with the student leaders. Probably, the meeting would be held on Thursday, he added.
The police, meanwhile, said that they have not received any complaint about the incident.