Date:18/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/18/stories/2008071855271400.htm

National

Ex-IITian gives up suicide bid

Staff Reporter

Kolkata: An ex-IIT Kanpur student climbed an 80-foot-tall water tank inside a railway-protected compound near Howrah on Thursday causing tense moments.

He finally came down nearly six hours later, after appeals from his family members.

Around 11.45 a.m., Ganesh Mohan Agarwal clambered up the tank on the Tikiapara Railway Training School premises, dodging the Railway Protection Force (RPF) that patrols the area.

“He was suffering from acute depression for the past few years and was undergoing psychiatric treatment,” said his father Bipul Mohan Agarwal.

The Howrah district police and fire brigade personnel rushed to the spot and tried to bring down the youth. Ganesh threatened to jump off the tank if forced to come down. He demanded his father’s mobile phone to talk to his sister, which was handed to him by an RPF policeman. He cited no reason for his behaviour.

Depressed

“We could not force him to come down as he might jump off and so we preferred to watch and assess the situation before taking any action,” said Niraj Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police, Howrah district.

Family members said that he was a brilliant student and had stayed in the U.S. for a long time, but suffered from bouts of depression.