Off-duty fireman jumps into lake to rescue man trying to end life

Nagpur: A driver operator employed with Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s fire and emergency services department rescued a middle-aged man, who had jumped into Gandhi Sagar in an attempt to end his life, on Thursday.
Police said the man, Ravindra Madhukar Mahalle, 54, a resident of Nehru Nagar, was out of danger and admitted to IGGMCH after being rescued from Gandhi Sagar at around 4pm.
The NMC staffer who rescued him, 28-year-old Vikram Dome, told TOI that he and his colleague (senior leading fireman Shankar Bijwe) were returning home after winding up their duty at Ganjipeth fire station.
“I was riding pillion while Bijwe was driving the two-wheeler and we were headed towards Sakkardara. While crossing Gandhi Sagar we spotted a crowd gathered near Ganesh temple situated at its bank,” he said.
“We stopped and I rushed towards the lake to find out what happened,” he said. Eyewitnesses told him that a few seconds ago, a man had jumped into the lake.
Dome spotted air bubbles over the lake indicating that the man was still alive. Wasting no time, Dome, in his uniform and shoes, dived into the lake and swam towards the direction where the man had plunged.
He dived deep into the lake and it took a few minutes for him to find Mahalle. Dragging him by his shirt, Dome swam towards Ganesh temple side, said eyewitnesses. With the help of onlookers, Mahalle was pulled out of the lake.
Dome applied his life saving training to save Mahalle. “He and Bijwe then took Mahalle to the nearby Ganeshpeth police station, from where he was admitted to Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital,” said API Vaishali Wadaskar. She, however, could not say what forced Mahalle to take the extreme step.
Sources said Mahalle had suffered huge financial loss due to Covid-induced lockdown, which perhaps forced him to take such a strong step.
Dome, a graduate in arts and one-year diploma in Civil Engineering, said he was feeling satisfied to save someone’s life in three years of service in NMC fire department. “I used to attend calls to fish out bodies from lakes,” Dome said, adding he had dreamed of joining the police service but landed up in the fire department, where he is happy now.