Union Minister Chirag Paswan meets the family members of the children who drowned after the boat in which they were travelling capsized in the Ganga, at Rampur Shyamchand village in Raghopur, Vaishali district, Bihar, on October 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Amit Bhelari
The boat, which capsized, killing 13 minors in the Ganga in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Tuesday (October 13), was dilapidated with a hole in the deck and was overloaded, police said on Wednesday (October 14, 2026).
Vaishali police said the country-made boat could barely carry five people and had sailed after sunset, violating the rules. They said water had entered through the hole.
The Vaishali district administration issued showcause notices to the circle officer and station house officer of Raghopur. Patna and Bhagalpur district authorities sounded alerts over plying of boats in the Ganga.
Vaishali District Magistrate, Varsha Singh, said, “Action will be taken against the boat owner, the operator, and everyone involved, including the officials responsible for monitoring the situation. It was a private boat.”
“It is the responsibility of the circle officer and the station house officer to prevent such activities by remaining alert and utilising their administrative machinery,” she added.
Authorities called off the search operation even as people at Rampur Shyamchand village in Raghopur, around 40km from the State’s capital, mourned the deaths. Political leaders and Ministers visited the village and met the family members of the deceased. The children, nine girls and four boys, were on their way to a memorial function.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan, who met the families, said, “If negligence had happened at any level, action will be taken.”
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav and State Cooperative Minister Ram Kripal Yadav visited the incident site on the instructions of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and spoke to the family members.
Health Minister Nishant Kumar visited Nalanda Medical College and Hospital and met the injured. He called the incident “tragic”, adding that six people are undergoing treatment at the hospital. The Minister said an inquiry committee has been formed to investigate the incident.
Raghopur MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the State, Tejashwi Yadav, met the bereaved families in the evening and demanded a high-level inquiry. His elder sister and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Misa Bharti also met the families.
Ms. Singh handed over cheques of ₹4 lakh, the ex gratia amount announced by the Chief Minister, to each family. No postmortem examination was done on the dead bodies at the request of family members.
Published – October 14, 2026 08:58 pm IST
