Bengaluru: Student drowns as his friends click selfies

BENGALURU: Vishwas G, a student of National College, Jayanagar, drowned in a pond on Sunday, even as his friends were busy clicking group selfies. He was picnicking with his fellow NCC cadets at Ravagondlu Betta near Kanakapura, Ramanagara district, 40km from Bengaluru. One of the pictures captured the boy drowning, while his friends struck poses for the camera.
Parents and relatives of Vishwas, 17, sat with the body in a protest in front of the college on Monday, alleging negligence by college faculty in charge of the NCC unit, Prof Girish and Sharath.
The demonstration was called off after the college management assured the protesters that stringent action would be taken against the lecturers if their role was confirmed. Kaggalipura police said that Vishwas G, a resident of Hanumantha Nagar, South Bengaluru, and elder son of autorickshaw driver Govindaraju and homemaker Sunanda , drowned in a 300-year-old kalyani, a stepped tank, when the touring party entered the waters in the afternoon. They were at Ravagondlu Betta in Ramanagara district.
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“We had finished swimming and left for the Gundanjaneya temple and did not notice Vishwas' absence. One of the students was replaying his selfie photos and noticed Vishwas drowning being captured in the frame.
He immediately alerted the NCC unit chief, Prof Girish, and other friends, and by the time they returned to the Kalyani, an hour had passed. Vishwas was nowhere to be seen,“ Sumanth A, one of the students, said.
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Police said Prof Girish was present at the spot, but the college authorities claimed that no faculty member had accompanied the students.
Local police was summoned to the spot. Vishwas' body was fished out around 3.30pm. Alerted by Vishwas' friends, his parents rushed to the spot.
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“The students came to the spot with Professor Girish, NCC in-charge, and the incident happened when the students taking selfies,“ Ramanagara district SP Ramesh Banoth confirmed.
Kaggalipura police said around 25 students, all NCC cadets from the Jayanagar college, had come to the hill for a trek. “The students came to the Betta around 2pm Sunday. They disregarded a signboard put up by the local gram panchayat that no one should enter the water, and plunged in,“ a police officer said.
“Govindappa filed a complaint alleging that negligence by the National College management cost his son his life. We registered a case of unnatural death, based on the complaint, and may register a case against the college management if a probe confirms their negligence,“ a police officer said.
“We did not question any students present at the spot when the incident happened on Sunday, as all of them were in shock. We have a list of students and will summon them to record their statements. We will know whether any faculty was part of the team or not," Kaggalipura police said.
The body was shifted to Sri Rajarajeshwari Medical College Hospital on Mysuru Road for postmortem and handed over to his parents on Monday .
TIMES VIEW
The selfie craze has claimed one more life. Despite a number of deaths of people striking poses in dangerous spots ­on railway tracks, in water and perilous tourist spots ­few lessons have been learnt. If not for the tragedy involved, losing one's footing could be almost comic. While the central government has come up with advertisements warning the public, the tourism department is also doing its bit by putting up boards prohibiting selfies at risky spots. This should especially serve the young, as in the case of Vishwas, where water and a mobile camera turned into a deadly combination.