Knight on shining tower awaits the rescue of wife in distress

NEW DELHI, January 19: A young man’s love for his wife made him scale dizzying heights, literally. For the past four days, 22-year-old Ashraf Jamal Khan has had policemen, firemen and railway policemen at his feet as he sat pretty atop the 200-feet-high microwave tower near the New Delhi railway station. His demands include a meeting with the President, intervention by the Supreme Court — all for his beloved wife Poonam, who he claims has been `abducted’ by her parents. A resident of Varanasi, Ashraf said he had brought Rs 50,000 from his home and had knocked all possible doors in the capital for help. But no one had assisted him, hence the step.

He is perched so high atop the tower that it is not possible to communicate with him. Ashraf’s only companion on his perch was the mobile he carried with him. Through this, he was making relentless efforts to have a talk with the President. He has even sought the help of the Supreme Court. He has said that he will come down only after he “gets her”. And if his sweetheart is not rescued, he has threatened to jump to his death. He said he had spoken to his wife on phone on January 14 and that if he jumped, she too would commit suicide.

Ashraf is however no stranger to climbing towers. This is his second stint atop the same tower. He had adopted the same modus operandi for rescuing his wife in November last year. Meanwhile, police and fire brigade officials after making futile attempts for about 72 hours to get Ashraf to climb down withdrew their personnel from the spot as their attempts went in vain. Fire brigade had called their officers back yesterday.