IIT Kgp Prof tries to take selfie with son, dies after falling into gorge

Kolkata: In a tragic incident, a professor of IIT Kharagpur died and his son was seriously injured after they fell into a gorge while attempting to take a selfie.

The incident took place at Golberia area in Kharagpur on Sunday. The victim's daughter who was a little far away, saw his father and elder brother falling into the gorge filled with accumulated water. The incident happened near Golberia area of Kharagpur at around 1 pm on Sunday when Joydip Bhattacharjee, an assistant professor of the Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture Department of the IIT Kharagpur skid off and fell into the gorge while taking selfie with his son. The boy also fell into the gorge and rescued alive. The victim's son was rushed to a hospital in Kharagpur where he is currently undergoing treatment.

The police recovered the body of Bhattacharjee from the gorge an hour after the rescue of his son. While conducting a search, the rescue team initially failed to find any trace of the professor as it was filled with water.

The local residents, however, claimed that the professor jumped into the gorge to rescue his son who first fell into the gorge while taking the selfie. The local people managed to rescue his son but his father could not be saved as he remained untraced for a long time.

It was learnt that Bhattacharjee on Sunday morning took his son and daughter for a trip in the nearby areas on his motorcycle. They went to Golberia area where the professor was taking a selfie standing on an elevated portion of the land with the gorge situated adjacent to it. While taking selfie on his mobile phone, his legs skid and he fell into the gorged.

Bhattacharjee's son also fell but the police and local people managed to rescue him while his father was found dead. Bhattacharjee's daughter who stood at a distance was screaming for help after she saw her father and elder brother fall into the ditch.

After being attracted by her screams, the local people rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation. But it was difficult as the gorge was full of accumulated water. The matter was informed to the local police who rushed to the spot and carried out a searching operation with the help of the local people. Police have started a detailed probe into the incident.