High drama on cable bridge as engineer attempts suicide

Surat: A 22-year-old electrical engineer, who had turned suicidal was rescued just in the nick of time, in a high-voltage drama that was witnessed on the cable-stayed bridge post Sunday midnight.
Upset over a petty telephonic verbal duel with his girlfriend, Ambuj Shukla, a manager in a transport firm, parked his swanky motorcycle on the roadside over the bridge at around 2 am. After throwing his phone in Tapi River, Shukla was about to jump off the bridge to end his life when teams of police and fire department saved the distressed youngster from suicide attempt.
The hour-long rescue ordeal saw a police officer grabbing Shukla’s hand by offering a water bottle while a fire officer tied a rope around his waist. The timely intervention ensured that Shukla, who had already crossed the bridge’s parapet, did not fall in the river.
Shukla was spotted jumping the parapet by an alert home guard jawan Bhargav Patel who, through his colleagues alerted Adajan police, about the suicide bid.
While police sub-inspector SV Chaudhary reached the spot with a police control room van and kept Shukla busy in talks, a team from the Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES) and Shukla’s father Ramesh too rushed to the spot.
There were several heart-in-the-mount moments when Shukla crossed the walkway parapet as well as an iron railing on seeing the cops approach. He stood quite on the outer edge of the bridge while holding the railing bar.
“Our team was ready with lifesaving jackets and ring buoys in case Shukla would have jumped in the river. But that would have left limited chance of rescuing him as it was dark in the night,” said fire officer Ishwar Patel.
After Shukla was rescued, he informed the cops that he took the decision to end his life as his girlfriend was upset that he had gone on a four days tour without informing her.