Man booked in extortion case climbs water tank, threatens self-immolation

High drama was witnessed in Bassi town here where a man climbed atop an overhead water tank with a bottle of petrol and threatened to set himself on fire if an extortion case lodged against him was not withdrawn.

Mukesh Meena (40), against whom a case of extortion was lodged a few days ago, climbed on the tank and threatened to self-immolate. He claimed that he was not guilty in the case, SHO of Bassi police station Virendra Singh said.

"We tried to pacify him but he was not ready to come down. His attention was diverted and a rescue team managed to reach him and bring him down. It took nearly three hours," Singh said, adding, that the man was arrested under Section 151 of the CrPC.