Indian official empties tank to find his cell phone

If you accidentally drop your phone in water, hopefully it’s a puddle and not a tank.

Recently, a government official in India encountered the latter by dropping his Samsung phone into the Herkatta Dam in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh while trying to take a selfie in a scenic spot, according to the BBC.

Frustrated that his phone was out of sight, Rajesh Vishwas called local divers to look for him, but they couldn’t find him in the dark depths of the reservoir.

Refusing to give up on your longing to be reunited with your loved one samsung deviceclaiming that the phone contained sensitive government data, Vishwas took some of the most drastic action imaginable and ordered the tank to be drained.

Three days later, after almost half a million gallons (about 2 million liters) of water were pumped out of the tank, Vishwas, the local food inspector, was able to find her phone. But it didn’t work anymore.

And his problems didn’t end there. When Vishwas’ superiors found out about his act, he was suspended from work for wasting water.

According to local media reports, Vishwas pleaded not guilty, saying he received verbal permission from an elder to partially drain the reservoir into a nearby canal. But the county authorities rejected his application.

Priyanka Shukla, a Kanker County official, said Vishwas will be taking a leave of absence from work ahead of an investigation into the bizarre incident, commenting: “Water is an important resource and should not be wasted.”

Shukla’s comments came shortly after India’s hottest March since records were set 122 years ago, putting water supplies in jeopardy among other devastating consequences.

The unusual case is reminiscent of another water incident a couple of years ago, when a man jumped into icy water in Victoria, Canada to save his iPhone, which he had dropped in the harbor a few hours earlier. However, in this case, the phone still worked.