Title - Perched atop Central station, man keeps firemen busy

A man who perched atop the 136-ft flagstaff on the clock tower of Central Railway Station, brought traffic to a standstill for nearly five hours on Monday.

He was first spotted atop the tower around 2.30 p.m., after which the railway police began efforts to bring him down. According to Station Manager S. Govindasamy, the stairwell is opened only for flag hoisting on August 15 and January 26. It is the duty of the station manager to hoist the flag, he said. “He probably broke the lock and entered the staircase,” he added.

Railway police tried to entice the man with food and water. When they acceded to his demand of food, the man apparently refused to let them enter the platform and asked them to extend the food packets and water to him. Initially, he was sitting on the tower but when fire service personnel tried to break open the platform he climbed on to the flag pole.

Crowds gathered outside the railway station and swelled as fire officials struggled to rescue the man. It was only around 6 p.m., that a Bronto Skylift, equipment used to reach high-rise structures, was deployed. At 6.50 p.m., the Skylift reached the man on the flag pole after one failed attempt, and plucked him off the pole. Railway police said the man, K. Deepak, hails from Nepal and had come to Chennai 10 years ago. He is married to Sitadevi in Nepal, and has two children. He had earlier worked in Tambaram and later moved to a shop supplying water cans.

On Monday afternoon, he had entered the tower when the watchman on duty had gone for lunch, police said. He is reported to have told the police that someone had filed a case against him and he was afraid for his life. Railway police have registered case against him under provisions of the Mental Health Act.