Rescue efforts go awry, man dies

A mentally challenged man lost his life after efforts to rescue him from the roof of a four-storey building in Purulia went horribly wrong.

Amit Singh (27), a resident of Mudali village under Aarsha police station, had gone to Purulia town for a check-up with a psychiatrist. On Saturday evening, he climbed up to the roof of the four-storey building at Purulia Zilla Parishad premises, where he was staying with his grandfather. Not knowing how to bring him down, his family called the police and fire brigade.

During the rescue operation, Amit started throwing stones at the rescue team. Two policemen and his father Rameshwar Prasad Singh were injured. Around 10 pm, the fire brigade started sprinkling water at him through a fog nozzle. Amit tried to move away, treading dangerously on the slippery rooftop without a parapet. In the meantime, a rescue operator climbed to the rooftop on a small ladder. And as he tried to reach out to him, Amit slipped and fell. He was rushed to Deben Mahato Sadar Hospital, where he was referred to a Jharkhand hospital. On the way to Bokaro, Amit succumbed to injuries around 12 am.

Amit's uncle Debjit Singh questioned the efficacy and coordination of the rescue team. He said they should have dealt with the operation more carefully.

West Bengal Fire Service (Purulia) sources admitted limitations in handling disaster management cases due to shortage of manpower.

Purulia superintendent of police C Sudhakar told The Indian Express that rescue operations are the job of fire services. However, allegations of lack of cooperation and misguidance were levelled by WBFS against policemen who were allegedly in a hurry to bring the youth down.

A top WBFS official admitted that the rescue team should have taken more time to deal with the case. He also expressed amazement at the absence of any top-level police official during the operation who could have handled it judiciously.

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