SRINAGAR: A dramatic scene unfolded on Monday evening in the Banikhet area of Himachal Pradesh’s Dalhousie, when a 48-year-old former Special Police Officer (SPO) from Jammu and Kashmir climbed a 15-metre-high pine tree and threatened to take his own life, citing severe financial hardship, reports appearing in media said.
The man, identified as Shyam Lal, told passersby that his income had plunged from Rs 18,000 a month to just Rs 4,000 in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Tearfully pleading for help, he warned that any rescue attempt would prompt him to hang himself.
Startled onlookers quickly informed the village head, who alerted the local police. A team of police officers and fire brigade personnel responded swiftly, laying out rescue nets and positioning a ladder at the base of the tree. However, Lal refused to cooperate, continuing his protest from the treetop.
The tense standoff lasted for nearly five hours.
With local efforts failing, officials contacted Rameshwar Singh, the MLA from Bani in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district. Singh drove over 68 kilometres to the site, reaching Banikhet by around 9:20 PM. Speaking to the media afterward, he said Lal had told him he served as an SPO “during the hardest times,” had mounting debts, and a child studying in Chandigarh.
“He asked me, ‘How can I survive on Rs 4,000?’” Singh recounted. “He was clearly in distress, but I told him that while I understood his pain, this wasn’t the right way to protest.”
Singh also clarified that any decisions on salaries or reappointments fall under the jurisdiction of the central government, since Jammu and Kashmir is now a Union Territory.
In a significant development, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Kathua, Shiv Kumar, later stated that Shyam Lal had been disengaged as an SPO “several years ago,” and was no longer on the police rolls. Despite this, many local officials expressed sympathy and promised to raise the issue at higher levels, including with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
After being safely brought down and undergoing a medical examination, Lal was not booked under any legal charges. Authorities ruled out any intoxication and allowed him to leave with the MLA, returning to Jammu and Kashmir.
The incident has triggered wider concern over the economic struggles faced by disengaged personnel, especially in sensitive regions like Jammu and Kashmir. The emotional episode has highlighted a growing need to assess post-Covid financial vulnerabilities among former security staff, many of whom served on the frontlines during peak militancy.
