Dena Sukumar, a 17-year-old Plus Two student of Poonamallee Aringnar Anna Government Higher Secondary School was trying to take a selfie with a train in the backdrop when he was run over. He and his friends were standing by the railway tracks and chatting when they suddenly decided to take selfies.
A few weeks back, two young men from Madhya Pradesh drowned in the Narmada and a girl and a man in Mumbai drowned in the Arabian Sea while attempting to take selfies. In the Mumbai case, 37-year-old Ramesh Walunj, who was passing by at the time, had jumped in to save three girls who had slipped in while taking selfies. Although he succeeded in saving two of them, he died while attempting to rescue the third.
Shortly after the Mumbai selfie death, the Mumbai police launched an initiative to identify the most dangerous place to take selfies. Accordingly, taking selfies is going to be banned in certain hotspots in Juhu, Mahim, Bandra, Sion, Marine Drive, Colaba, Gorai, and Worli. Although the ban is yet to be implemented, the police are taking the required steps to create awareness about the issue.
DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni, a spokesperson for the Mumbai police, said: “As of now we have not identified any spot where people will not allow clicking selfie. But it is in the process and we are planning to spread awareness through social media. As of now we have not written to any agency but shortly we would begin the process.”
India is the world leader in selfie deaths at present. Last year, the organizers of the Kumbh Mela banned selfies in certain areas because they feared that it could lead to stampedes.
