A tragic incident occurred in Bankat village, under Paharpur police station in East Champaran district, Bihar, where four minor girls drowned in a pond during the Jitiya festival. The incident took place on Friday, a day marked by festive activity in the village.

According to reports, some women and girls from the village had gone to the pond for a ritual bath. During this, four girls ventured into the deeper part of the pond and drowned. When the girls were not seen for some time, those nearby grew suspicious. Villagers quickly gathered upon hearing cries for help and began searching. After considerable effort, the four girls were pulled out of the water and rushed to the Community Health Center (Paharpur), but doctors declared them dead upon arrival.

The deceased girls have been identified as Sonamati (13), Phoolmati (10, both daughters of Pramod Mahto), Sonali Kumari (10, daughter of Virendra Mahto), and Pratima Kumari (12, daughter of Achhelal Paswan). The news of the simultaneous death of four girls plunged their families and the entire village into profound grief.

Paharpur police station personnel arrived at the scene upon receiving information about the incident. They inspected the site, gathered information from relatives and villagers, and sent the four bodies to Motihari for post-mortem examination. The police are completing the necessary legal procedures. Govindganj MLA Raju Tiwari expressed deep condolences over the incident, calling it "extremely sad and heartbreaking." He met with the bereaved families and urged the administration to promptly provide government assistance of ₹4 lakh to each affected family as per rules.