Indian boy in critical condition after shooting himself in the head whilst taking a selfie

An Indian teenager has accidentally shot himself in the head with his father's gun while trying to take a 'selfie'. Ramandeep Singh, 15, is critically injured but is expected to survive the close-range blast while taking the self portrait.

Singh, from Shiv Nagar, was attempting to take the selfie with his sister whilst pointing a licensed .32 bore revolver to his head. The gun, which belonged to his dad, went off and he was taken to hospital in Ludhiana with critical injuries.

Ramandeep is a student at Guru Harkishen Public School and his father, a property dealer, was not at home although other family members were present. Deputy police superintendent Manoj Kumar said the accident happened when the schoolboy removed the revolver from the wardrobe where it is normally kept.

"The boy's father and family said that he was trying to take a selfie with his gun," he said to Sky News. "We will speak to the boy when he is declared medically fit. We think that part of the blame obviously goes to the father for not keeping his loaded gun under lock and key at their home."

The accident is similar to an incident which took place in Washington State, US, in March this year. A 43-year-old man died after accidentally shooting himself in the head while taking a selfie holding a gun he thought was unloaded.

India has seen a number of shocking accidents where citizens have hurt themselves whilst trying to take selfies. In February, India was declared the country with the most selfie deaths in the world, clocking up 40% of worldwide deaths.

New research by Priceonomics revealed that as many as 19 people have died from selfie-related deaths in India since 2014. In January, police in the western city of Mumbai introduced 'no-selfie' zones.

Officers identified 16 dangerous selfie spots in Mumbai, and asked the local council to put up warning signs and deploy lifeguards. The move follows the accident on 9 January when a man drowned as he tried to save an 18-year-old girl who had fallen into the Arabian sea from some rocks while taking a photo of herself.