One of the climber during a stunt in New Delhi. (Express photo) Worli Police on Wednesday arrested two Russian nationals for allegedly climbing the iconic high-strength galvanised steel cable at the Bandra-Worli sea link to click pictures while performing stunts.
The police said the duo, who work in circus, often scale highrises to perform stunts, and they post the photos of their stunts on social media.
The police said the incident took place around 6.15 pm on Wednesday when the two, identified as Maksim Shcherbakov (24) and Vasili Kolesenikov (30), entered the Bandra-Worli sea link from the Bandra end on a taxi.
The duo often scale highrises to perform stunts. (Express photo)
Senior Inspector Anil Koli of the Worli police station said, “They asked the taxi driver to stop the vehicle on the Bandra-Worli sea link. They got off the taxi and started walking towards the high-strength galvanised steel cable.”
The sea link is prohibited for pedestrians, said another officer.
“Maksim started climbing the pillar holding the cable, while his accomplice waited to click his photos and videos,” added Koli.
After some time, one of the onlookers alerted the Mumbai Police control room about the incident. The Worli police, who were eventually alerted as well, went to the spot and detained the duo.
“Initially, we started investigating from a terror perspective, but after we got them to the police station, we came to know that they are stunt performers. We checked Maksim’s Instagram profile and saw that he posted several photos of him either sitting or standing on the tip of the terraces of highrises in India and Dubai,” said an officer.
Late on Wednesday, an FIR was registered against the Russians under Sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC and they were placed under arrest.
Maksim and Vasili were subsequently produced in court on Thursday and released on a bail bond of Rs 7,500 each.
The investigators added that the duo is staying in a dormitory at Saki Naka in Andheri.
“They have been in India on a tourist visa for over a year now. They keep moving from one state to another, depending on the work they find,” said an officer.
The two were in Goa around 15 days ago and came to Mumbai as they got work in a circus event at Mehboob Studio in Bandra.
“The duo told us that they will return to Goa,” added an officer.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
