Surender Kumar on top of the water tank on the CRPF group centre premises in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 12: It was a scene straight out of Sholay where a drunk Veeru threatens to commit suicide by jumping off a water tank.

Only, in this case, this scene unfolded in real life today.

A CRPF jawan, Surendar Kumar, harbouring a grouse against his seniors for “torturing him mentally”, climbed on top of a 100-feet water tank on the premises of the force’s group centre here and threatened to commit suicide by jumping from there.

The drama that began around 3pm had still not come to an end at the time of filing the report.

Kumar, 33, a native of Jammu and Kashmir, who is employed as a driver, refused to listen to his seniors who tried their best to persuade him to come down. When reports last came in, senior CRPF officers residing on the campus had spread nets and laid jump sheets on the ground to prevent any untoward incident in the event of a fall.

Kumar, who got married last year, alleged that his seniors did not grant him leave to go home.

“The authorities have been denying me leave since February. They had also ordered an inquiry against me on false charges. Today they threatened to put me behind bars when I asked for leave,” Kumar said, while speaking from his mobile phone.

He said he would not come down from the water tank till his demands were met.

Senior CRPF officers, however, denied Kumar’s allegations and described him as “mentally unstable”.

“He has been undergoing treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital. We have found out from his family that he faces no problem on the family front,” said deputy inspector-general, CRPF group centre, Bhubaneswar, Subrat Mishra.

Kumar, who joined the force 10 years ago, has been with the Bhubaneswar centre for the last four years. He stays here alone while his family is in Jammu and Kashmir.

He even alleged that the authorities had withheld his transfer to his home state.

“I had been transferred to 43rd Battalion in Jammu and Kashmir but the authorities did not let me join. I need leave urgently as my parents are unwell,” alleged Kumar.

Hundreds of curious people have been watching the drama inside the CRPF centre from rooftops of nearby buildings. Kumar even acknowledged their presence by waving his hand a few times.

“I was surprised to see this man on top of the water tank in uniform when I came to the roof of my house around 4pm,” said Prasant Kumar Baral, a local resident.

His colleagues living on the campus also gathered near the water tank and pleaded with him to come down peacefully. Fire brigade and local police have been summoned.

“We have appealed to him several times to come down. But so far we have been unsuccessful,” said a senior CRPF officer.