Samastipur/Patna: Three brothers have died after drowning in a river in Bihar’s Samastipur district, in an incident that has left their village in mourning.
The boys, aged 17, 15 and 13, were bathing in the Kareh river at Bariyahi Ghat on Monday when the tragedy occurred. According to eyewitnesses, one of the siblings ventured into deeper water after applying shampoo and began to struggle.
Seeing him in distress, his two younger brothers jumped in to rescue him. All three were quickly overwhelmed by the current and disappeared beneath the surface.
Their father, Sudarshan Kumar Jha, who had accompanied them to the river, also entered the water in an attempt to save his sons but was unable to reach them due to the depth.
The family, originally from Boraj village in Shivajinagar block, had returned from Delhi, where they live and study, to mark Ram Navami festival. Jha works as a security guard in Delhi’s Nihal Vihar area. The family visits the village annually for the festival, during which Jha also takes part in a traditional flag-hoisting ceremony at a local Hanuman temple, where his father serves as a priest.
Villagers raised the alarm after the boys went under, drawing hundreds to the riverbank. Police were informed and arrived at the scene, where local fishermen assisted in recovery efforts. Two of the brothers were pulled from the river and taken to nearby health centres before being referred to Samastipur’s district hospital, where they were declared dead. The third body was recovered several hours later.
Ravindra Kumar, the station house officer of Shivajinagar police station, said officers responded promptly and, with the help of local divers, retrieved the children from the river, though all three had already died.
Some residents expressed anger that a specialised disaster response team did not arrive sooner, arguing that faster intervention might have saved the boys.
Local authorities said an investigation is under way and that the bodies were sent for postmortem examination before being returned to the family. Officials also said financial assistance would be provided in accordance with government provisions.
The deaths have devastated the family, with villagers describing the three boys as the couple’s only children. Their mother, Asha Devi, is reported to be inconsolable, while their father remains in shock. The village has been gripped by grief in the aftermath of the incident.
