To highlight farm woes, man jumps into Mantralaya safety net

A 40-year-old man Monday jumped into a safety net at Mantralaya in order to attract the Maharashtra government's attention to issues like farm suicides and agricultural distress, police said.

Incidentally the safety net was placed across an open space on the first floor of the state secretariat by the Public Works Department early last year following instances of disgruntled people jumping off the corridors of the sprawling south Mumbai building.

Police identified the man as Laxman Chavan, a resident of Pune, and said he jumped off the second floor of Mantralaya into the safety net.

Chavan moved to the centre of the net and started shouting out his demands to the hundreds of visitors present there at the time, an official said.

A police team arrived at the spot and detained him, he added.

Senior Inspector Shivaji Phadtare of Marine Drive police station said Chavan's statement was being recorded and further legal action would follow later.