ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Rajesh Vishwas was suspended from his government position after he drained 2.1 million liters of water from a reservoir to find his phone, according to the International Business Times.

Vishwas, a government official in the Indian state of Chhatttisgarh, was reportedly at a picnic near the Paralkot reservoir on May 21 and dropped his phone into the 10-foot-deep water while taking a selfie.

After two days of diving failed to recover his Samsung Galaxy smartphone, Vishwas took the search to another level.

“I called up the sub divisional officer of Water Resources Department who gave oral permission as it was just a few feet of water,” he told a national newspaper. “On Tuesday night, I hired a diesel pump for [$90.84] and drained around three feet of water from the reservoir over a period of two days.”

The phone was recovered after Vishwas had drained over 550,000 gallons of water. A video of the draining was posted to Twitter on Friday.

A district administrator said Vishwas “had no authority to drain the water. Hence, he has been suspended.”