Berhampur: A scene from Bollywood blockbuster Sholay played out at the city railway station after a 29-year-old man from Assam climbed the portal mast and threatened to commit suicide if the authorities did not trace his missing friend on Wednesday.

Fire brigade personnel rescued the man after nearly two-and-a-half hours.

The man, identified as Pallav Bardoli from Navagaon in Assam, is said to be suffering from mental health problems.

The high portal mast accommodates high-voltage overhead electricity of many railway tracks. Railway traffic came to a halt throughout the duration of the rescue operation as the authorities had to cut off electric supply to the transmission wires to ensure the man's safety.

"It was a melodramatic sequence as the man climbed atop the tower and threatened to kill himself," said Manmohan Pradhan, who was waiting for his train to Visakhapatnam at the station. "It was bizarre. I witnessed it from the beginning till the end," he said.

Police later sent to hospital for medical examination, a railway official said.

The cops have also registered a case under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code against the man for trying to end his life. "It is an offence. But everything depends on what the doctors say about his health condition," said a police officer.

Fire brigade personnel climbed atop the tower from two sides to bring the man down, said assistant fire officer Sanatan Mahapatra. "We also used a ladder to cover one side and kept a net ready to save him in case he jumped. Thankfully, everything went on perfectly," he said.

Three fire brigade personnel climbed the tower from different sides to nab Bordoli. They attempted to engage him in conversation throughout the rescue mission in a bid to persuade him to come down, he said.

A member of the team said: "He told us that he hailed from Assam and had a murder case against him. He kept saying that his friend was lost and he would not come down unless he was found. He kept changing statements every time and it appeared that he was mentally unstable," he said.

In a similar incident, a mentally unstable youth had climbed the microwave tower on the All India Radio complex here in 2002 and gave the police a tough time.

A railway official said the movement of at least three trains were affected due to the incident.