Man climbs atop mobile tower in Chandigarh, demands meeting with Punjab CM over land dispute

A man climbed atop a 125-ft-high mobile tower here on Tuesday, insisting on meeting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for the resolution of his land dispute.

Five hours later, police managed to convince him to come down. He was brought down with the help of a skylift ladder.

Chandigarh Deputy Superintendent of Police Gurmukh Singh said information was received around 8:30 am that a man had climbed atop the mobile tower in Sector 17. A fire brigade and an ambulance were deployed near the spot, he said.

The man, Vikram, a resident of Haryana’s Jind, is embroiled in a land dispute in Punjab’s Mansa district and claimed that no action had been taken on his complaint in the matter, the DSP said.

The police team repeatedly requested Vikram to come down but he refused to budge from his demand to meet the chief minister for the resolution of the land dispute, Singh said.

The DSP said he spoke to Vikram on the phone and told him that he had spoken to the officer on special duty to the Punjab chief minister and his issue would be resolved. Singh also assured to take Vikram to the chief minister’s residence.

Around 1:30 pm, Vikram finally heeded police requests and agreed to come down. He was taken for a medical checkup after he came down, Singh said.