Taking selfie costs youth his life in Paralakhemundi

Paralakhemundi: The desire to click a selfie at a picnic point here proved fatal for a youth of Paralakhemundi in Gajapati district.

The youth identified as Rakesh Pattnayak of Kamakhyanagar here, drowned in Mahendratanaya river while taking selfie at the Brundaban Palace picnic point here on Wednesday. His dead body was recovered this morning. Rakesh was working as a software engineer in Bengaluru and had come to Paralakhemundi on the Dussehra vacation.

Police said Rakesh along with his two friends had come to the picnic point. While he was taking selfie climbing on a tree, his mobile slipped off his hand and fell into the river. In a bid to catch the mobile, he too fell into the river. Since Rakesh did not know swimming, he was swept away by the river current.

"Being informed by the palace watchman, a team of fire brigade and police personnel launched a search operation in the river yesterday. His body was recovered about 100 metres from the spot on Thursday morning," said Paralakhemundi police station IIC Babuli Nayak.

Police have registered a case of 'unnatural death' in connection with the incident, Nayak added.