An 18-year-old college student who went out for an outing with friends fell into the Hooghly apparently while taking a selfie on Friday and could not be traced till Sunday, police said.
Sheikh Sayed, a resident of Tallah and a student of a north Kolkata college, left home around 4pm on Friday to join six of his friends on an outing to Bagbazar Lock Gate.
Sayed apparently went close to the river and lost balance and stumbled into the water while taking a selfie, an officer of Kolkata police’s Port division said.
Hundreds of people visit the Hooghly banks every day and many risk their lives taking photographs and selfies standing dangerously close to the water.
"After talking to his friends who were accompanying him, we suspect Sayed was taking a selfie when he fell into the river. The disaster management group has launched a search for him but he could not be traced till late on Sunday," the officer said.
"Till now, we have not come across any discrepancy in the statements of Sayed's friends."
Sayed's family, however, said they suspect his friends provoked him to go close to the water. "We suspect his friends dared him to go that far. We want their role to be probed," said a relative.
An aunt of Sayed said the teenager had left home saying he was going to college but they later learnt that the college was closed on Friday.
"He received two calls — one from a male friend and another from a female friend. We have strong suspicions on this," the aunt said.
Sayed, the only child of his parents, was an enthusiastic football player. His father drives a bus and his mother works as a help, the police said.
A senior officer of North Port police station said they did not receive any complaint from the family till Sunday evening.
"All police stations along the river in the city as well as in the Bengal police area have been alerted. We are trying our best to locate the boy," the officer said.