Teenagers and students have often been slammed for playing around with their mobile phones a bit too much, texting friends, and taking selfies, while being completely unaware of their surroundings. Thanks to this obsession with mobile phones, a teenager lost his life in Bengaluru on Sunday, September 24.
Vishwas G, a student of National College, Jayanagar, drowned in a pond and died while his friends were busy taking selfies. The boy can be seen drowning in the background of one of the selfies. The students, who are NCC cadets, had gone for a picnic to Ravagondlu Betta near Kanakapura, about 40km from Bengaluru.
"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," Sumanth A, one of the students who was a part of the group, told the Times of India.
"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," he added.
The group then called the local police, who pulled the body out of the water. Vishwas' friends are then said to have alerted his parents of the incident.
"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 explained.
Additionally, another police officer also told TOI that there were about 25 students who had gone to the area for trekking. They are said to have ignored a signboard that warns entering the water and "plunged in." The police also did not question the students present at the spot as they were reportedly 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," the police said.
Meanwhile, Vishwas' parents have now blamed the college for negligence and even filed a formal complaint. "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.
While the student and the police have clearly said that the professor had accompanied them, the college authorities denied the claim. But when the parents staged a protest with Vishwas' body against the college and its authorities, the institution's management said that strict action would be taken against the professors if their negligence was proven.
