20 May,2026 09:47 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Man atop mobile tower seeks Eknath Shinde`s intervention (Representational image)
A man climbed a mobile tower near Bhiwandi in Thane district on Wednesday morning, seeking Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's intervention in a land dispute. An official stated that efforts to bring down the man from the tower were underway.
As reported by news agency PTI, the drama began at around 9:30 am on Wednesday when a man started to climb a mobile tower. Soon after noticing the rare incident, locals gathered around the tower. The officials said that he had not climbed down till late in the evening, and efforts to bring him down are still underway.
The man climbed the tower carrying the tricolour, a portrait of Dr B. R. Ambedkar and a bottle of petrol, threatening to take an extreme step if his grievances were not addressed, said senior inspector Netaram Mhaske of Kongaon police station, as per PTI.
"He claims that his property and land issues have remained unresolved for several years. He has specifically demanded that Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should personally come to the spot and negotiate with him," the official said.
A team of police personnel and revenue officials were at the spot, and local authorities were appealing to him using a public address system, urging him to climb down safely and promising to look into his grievances, said Inspector Mhaske.
The officials, while briefing further about the man, said, "As of 8:30 pm, the man had not come down."
"He had attempted a similar protest earlier too, " the official added.
In a different scenario at Thane, six persons have allegedly cheated a jewellery trader of Rs 14 lakh under the pretext of selling him gold at a low price.
The 31-year-old victim, a resident of Goregaon in Mumbai, claimed that the accused approached him with an offer to sell gold at a discounted rate. They allegedly took Rs 14 lakh in cash from him in the Vasant Vihar area here on May 12 but failed to hand over the promised 100 grams of gold, a police official said, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
