Bengaluru: 17-year-old NCC cadet drowns as friends click selfie

In a bizarre incident reported from Bengaluru, a 17-year-old reportedly drowned in a pond on Sunday as his friends were clicking selfies. One of the pictures shows the victim drowning while the others are taking a selfie.

Vishwas G, a student of the National College, drowned in a pond at Ramagondlu Betta of Kanakapura at Ramanagara district around 40 kilometres from Bengaluru, Bangalore Mirror reported. Kaggalipura police said that Vishwas is a resident of Hanumantha Nagar in South Bengaluru and he was on an outing with other cadets of the National College when they entered the pond. [caption id=“attachment_4083671” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Vishwas seen drowning in the background. News18[/caption] The other cadets, according to NDTV , left the pond to go to a temple without noticing that Vishwas was missing. Later, a student scrolling through the photos they had taken earlier spotted Vishwas’ head disappearing under water. The police later found the body at around 3.30 pm and informed his parents. “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,” a student, Sumanta A, told The Times of India . The police told Bangalore Mirror that 25 students, all NCC cadets, had gone to the hill for trekking. Superintendent of police of Ramanagara, Ramesh Banoth, said that the students got into the pond and started swimming, ignoring a sign put up by the grama panchayat indicating danger. Vishwas lost balance and was stuck in the silt, he added. Vishwas’ parents have accused the college authorities of negligence and ignoring the safety of students. On Monday morning, they arrived at the college to demand an explanation, Deccan Chronicle reported. The parents demanded that the Associate NCC Officer (ANO) Rajesh should answer them that how did their son die. However, when Rajesh did not respond to the calls made by the college management, Vishwas’ parents and relatives staged a protest. His father, Govindappa, filed a complaint alleging that negligence by the National College management cost his son his life, a police officer told The Times of India. The police subsequently 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. The parents left the college premises after the management assured them that an inquiry will determine the facts of the death.