A man in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday climbed a traffic light pole and refused to get down until he was supplied with alcohol and tobacco, threatening to commit suicide if his demands were not met.
The incident in Agra city was captured in a video which shows police personnel gathering around the man and urging him to get down. A Twitter user, who shared the video, quoted the man as saying, “life is hell without alcohol. If I don’t get it, I’ll jump and commit suicide”.
The video has secured over 1.2K views on Twitter.
The sale of alcohol and tobacco is prohibited during the lockdown in India until 3 May. While multiple reports have cited withdrawal symptoms among heavy drinkers, triggering depression among them, brewers such as Carlsberg and Bira, with support from the All India Brewers’ Association (AIBA), have appealed for state governments’ nod for the online sale and delivery of liquor.
The first lockdown in India was implemented on 25 March and was set to last until 14 April. However, it was further extended to 3 May. India currently has 22,982 active cases of COVID-19 in the country, with 1,008 registered deaths. So far, 7,796 people have been cured.