Prayagraj: In a ‘Sholay’ redux, a 15-year-old boy climbed an 11,000-volt power line and held on to the wire at Bhaupur village in Pratapgarh on Thursday evening, demanding that he be married to his 13-year-old girlfriend. Soon, a dramatic 45-minute rescue operation unfolded, with the rescuers bringing a ladder and helping him down on the pretext of agreeing to his demand of solemnising “sath phere”.He was counselled by the police at Aspur Devsara police station and handed over to his family after the ordeal. Earlier, a crowd of villagers had gathered, eager to catch the drama, but thankfully, the electricity department had cut power for maintenance, avoiding any mishap. A video of the incident has gone viral.Station Officer (Aspur Devsara) Vijendra Singh told TOI, “The boy, a resident of Bhaupur, dropped out of school after ninth standard and had been in a relationship with a minor girl for the past one year. About three months back, he was thrashed by a group of local boys of the same age group when he went to meet her in a neighbouring village.”The father of the boy approached the police station after he came to know about the assault on his only son, but withdrew the application when he was briefed about the truth.However, the boy continued to be in contact with the girl and was caught red-handed while talking to her. Angered, his family members snatched his phone.On Thursday afternoon, the boy left the house when his father went to work, climbed a 30-foot pole, and was spotted dangling from a high-tension wire. When villagers asked him to step down, he refused. He reportedly said he would not come down unless his marriage to his girlfriend was arranged.However, a team of police officials managed to pacify the boy on the pretext of arranging his marriage with the same girl. The cops conducted his counselling for three hours, encouraging him to pursue his studies and obey his parents.
