BHADOHI, 24 AUG

In imagery reminiscent of a water tanker scene from the famous Bollywood film ‘Sholay’, a man climbed atop a mobile tower at a village in Bhadohi district on Sunday and threatened to jump unless his "girlfriend" was brought to him for marriage.

This caused a five-hour standoff between the man, identified as Pawan Pandey, and the police and firefighters, trying to rescue him.

It was later revealed that Pandey had fallen victim to an online scam involving a fake identity, and his girlfriend never really existed, police said.

Circle Officer Ashok Kumar Mishra said, "Pandey runs a paan shop on the city's main road, and he climbed the tower near Yakubpur at around 9am. From the top, he shouted for a woman named Khushbu and insisted she be brought to the site or he would jump."

Police personnel and firefighters attempted to calm Pandey by contacting him over the phone. However, efforts to locate the woman he claimed to be in a relationship with proved unsuccessful.

Unable to find anyone named Khushbu, police eventually resorted to having a female staff member pose as her during a phone call. The ruse worked, and Pandey agreed to come down from the tower around 2pm.

Upon investigation, it emerged that Pandey had been chatting for the past two years with someone using a fake Instagram profile, posing as Khushbu. The person behind the account had used a woman's photograph to gain Pandey's trust and had allegedly received money from him under the pretence of a romantic relationship, police said.

"Pandey told us he wanted to marry Khushbu and believed people were trying to keep them apart," said Mishra. "However, it turned out to be a case of online fraud. Someone used a fake ID to impersonate a woman and extract money from him."

Police have initiated legal action against Pandey for public disturbance, while further investigation is underway.