Minors drown in river at Dinhata after boat capsizes

Two minors drowned in a river at Gitaldaha area of Dinhata in Cooch Behar. The incident triggered tension in the area.

Police said that the victims, Subhajit Das (8) and Priyanka Das (7), were returning home after attending a religious programme at a nearby village. They boarded a boat along with many others on their way home.

Police said that around 10 persons were returning to the Jagannath village in the boat. The boat had suddenly capsized before making it to the bank at around 9 pm. The other persons who were travelling in the boat managed to swim to the bank of the river but the two children were swept away by the current.

Local residents, along with the district administration, started a rescue operation. The disaster management team rushed to the spot. The police and district administration started a search operation on a boat after the incident. After conducting a search for nearly four hours, the rescue team found the two bodies. They were later sent for post-mortem.

The district administration and police have started a probe in this regard. They are investigating the reason why the boat capsized.

They interrogated the boatmen in this connection.

Police are investigating if the boat was overloaded at the time of the accident.

Police and district administration have imposed certain regulations on boat operators across the state. But boatmen often flout the norms dictated by the district administration. Police are also trying to determine if the boatmen took on passengers beyond the capacity of the boat.

A detailed probe has been initiated in this connection.