Indian official drains a reservoir to retrieve his smartphone

An Indian government official has been formally suspended after he drained approximately two million litres of water from a reservoir to retrieve a phone he dropped while taking a selfie.

Rajesh Vishwas, 32, a food inspector employed by the Chhattisgarh government, was with friends at a scenic spot by Kherkatta dam when he dropped the smartphone into the deep water.

Reportedly, he initially asked local divers for help retrieving the device, but when they failed to salvage the phone, Vishwas deployed a diesel pump to drain the reservoir.

According to Vishwas, the Samsung phone contained “sensitive government data”.

He also claimed that he obtained verbal permission from a subdivisional officer to drain “some water” into a nearby canal.

Over a period of three days, nearly two million litres of water were drained from the reservoir with the diesel pump, enough to irrigate approximately 1500 acres of farmland.

Vishwas defended himself, saying that the water was drained from the dam’s overflow and was “wastewater unfit for irrigation,” and that “no farmer was affected” by his actions.

He offered an apology to the public but accused local media of “exaggerating” the incident.

However, the state government of Chhattisgarh refuted his claim, saying that no official permission was granted.

They criticised Vishwas’s actions at a time when millions of people in north and central India face water shortages and extreme heat.

“When people are depending upon tankers for water facility in in scorching summers, the officer has drained 41 lakh litres which could have been used for irrigation purpose for 1,500 acres of land,” said the statement from the Chhattisgarh government.

Authorities have since suspended Rajesh Vishwas and have launched an investigation into the official who supposedly gave him permission to drain water from the dam.

Vishwas did eventually retrieve the phone, in an unusable and waterlogged condition.