A tragic incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon in the Chanderhi Bahiyar area under Dhamdaha police station in Purnia district, where three minor boys drowned in the Bhaisa Dhar (river) while bathing. The deceased have been identified as Mithani Kumar (15), son of Brahmadev Rishi; Rahul Kumar (14), son of Ajay Rishi; and Happy Kumar (12), son of Bablu Rishi, all residents of Shankar Chowk Mahadalit Tola, Ward No. 09, Thadhi Rajo Panchayat. The three boys were close friends.

According to local residents, the three children went to bathe in the Bhaisa Dhar, located in front of the Chanderhi brick kiln, around 2 PM on Wednesday. Unaware of the depth and strong current of the water, they drowned one by one. Seeing the children drowning, people working in nearby fields and at the brick kiln raised an alarm and jumped into the water to rescue them. Villagers made strenuous efforts to pull the children out of the water, but by then, it was too late, and all three had died.

Upon receiving information about the incident, Dhamdaha Sub-Divisional Officer Anupam and Station House Officer Ravishankar Kumar arrived at the scene with police forces. The police administration inspected the site and managed the situation. Subsequently, the bodies of the three children were taken into custody and a panchnama was prepared. The bodies were then sent for post-mortem examination to Purnia Sadar Hospital via the Sub-Divisional Hospital.

The death of three children from the same locality has cast a pall of gloom over Shankar Chowk Mahadalit Tola. The families are distraught with grief. Administrative officials consoled the affected families and assured them that the process for providing government compensation (ex-gratia grant) under the disaster management department rules would be initiated soon.