Sasaram: A heart-wrenching incident took place near Dhuwan village in Sasaram, Rohtas district, as three young students drowned in the Lalganj Kuraich canal, with one more girl still missing. The incident occurred on Saturday when the four students, returning home from Mahndiganj Madhya School, stopped to wash their feet at the canal.
According to District Councilor Neha Nataraj, the victims, identified as Vipasha Kumari (11) and Bittu Kumari (12), daughters of Munna Yadav, along with Rimjim Kumari (12), daughter of Dhanji Prasad, were accompanied by Pooja Kumari (13), daughter of Purnwasi Yadav. Vipasha and Bittu were sisters, attending sixth and seventh grade respectively, while Rimjim was also in seventh grade.
The tragedy unfolded when one of the girls slipped into the canal while washing her feet on a bridge. In a brave attempt to rescue her, the other three girls also got swept away in the strong currents, despite their efforts.
“After 16 hours of intense search and rescue operations by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the bodies of Vipasha Kumari, Bittu Kumari, and Rimjim Kumari were recovered from the canal on Sunday,” stated the Sasaram Mufassil Police Station In-charge. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination while efforts to locate Pooja Kumari are ongoing.
Deep Narayan Singh, Headmaster of Mohddiganj Madhya Vidyalaya, expressed deep sorrow over the incident. “School had concluded at 3:15 pm on Saturday, and the students were heading back home when this unfortunate accident occurred,” he recounted.
