LUCKNOW: Panic gripped the Gonda railway station area on Friday after a woman climbed a railway tower with her three young children, demanding that she be allowed to live with her alleged lover. She was safely brought down after a nearly nine-hour rescue operation involving the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), local police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF).According to officials, the incident occurred around 7:30 am when Geeta Devi climbed the tower located near the escalator at the railway station. She reportedly ascended to a height of nearly 100 feet on the approximately 150-foot-tall structure along with her three children and refused to come down unless her demand to live with Ram Akabal Singh was accepted.Personnel from the RPF, GRP and Kotwali police rushed to the spot and spent several hours trying to persuade her to descend. However, she remained adamant.The rescue operation was eventually carried out by a four-member SDRF team, which climbed the tower and successfully convinced the woman to come down. She and her children were safely rescued at around 4.30pm.The dramatic incident drew a large crowd of onlookers throughout the day.Assistant Commandant of the Gonda RPF, Mahendra Prasad, said the woman had climbed the tower with her three children around 7.30am and was safely rescued after extensive counselling. He said the woman wanted to live with a man and had resorted to the extreme step to press her demand.
