He was taking a selfie when he fell; Dead body found on the banks of Lokpavani river in Srirangapatna
Ten days after a 19-year-old youth lost his balance and fell from a moving train, the Upparpet police on Thursday recovered his body from the banks of the Lokpawani river in Srirangapatna. The deceased Abhishek, who worked as an assistant in a bar and restaurant in Gandhinagar, was allegedly trying to take a selfie when he fell.
“Abhishek along with four of his friends boarded a train from Majestic on the night of November 8 to Mandya to attend a village religious program. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP West) Sanjeev Patil said that he called his mother before boarding the train to inform that he was coming home.
When the train was approaching Pandavpura, around 2 am, he was clicking selfies near the door, according to a friend. She told the police that Abhishek lost his balance and was seen hanging on the door of the coach before “disappearing”. Instead of sounding the alarm, his friends got down at Mandya and looked for him on the tracks before alerting his family members.
Based on a complaint lodged by a relative, Uparpet police questioned his friends and later took the help of Mandya counterparts, railway police and local fishermen to trace Abhishek.
After several days of search, his body was recovered from the bank of the river, about seven kilometers from the spot.
“Interrogation revealed that Abhishek had leaned out the door to take a different selfie and failed to cross an iron bar across the bridge. He fell into the river and his body was washed away due to heavy rain.
Mr Patil appealed to the people to take all precautionary measures while traveling in trains and avoid taking selfies near the door of the moving train. “A momentary lapse can be a great danger and cause irreparable damage,” he said.