Patna boat tragedy probe will expose loopholes: Ravi Shankar Prasad

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Expressing grief over loss of lives in the Patna boat tragedy, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday hoped that the inquiry instigated in the matter will expose the loopholes and the defaulter responsible for the hapless incident.

"I am really saddened by the unfortunate incident. Such incidents should not take place; the arrangements should have been more robust. I firmly believe that the inquiry, which has been instigated, will expose loopholes and bring out at what level the fault took place," he told ANI.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been lodged against the operator of the boat which capsized yesterday in the river Ganga, in Bihar's Patna city, killing 24 people.

The operator, who was also on the boat at the time tragedy struck, was one of the lucky survivors.

The FIR was registered against him as the number of the people onboard was reportedly more than the vessel's capacity.

Amateur footage of the tragedy confirmed that the boat was carrying passengers, from a kite flying event, well over its intended capacity.

The dramatic visuals of the capsizing boat show several passengers swimming towards safety and a few seem to have been pulled into the waters along with the sinking boat.

The Bihar Government has constituted a three-member inquiry team headed by Principal Secretary of State Disaster Department Pratya Amrit to look into the matter.

The state government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased.

In the wake of the tragedy, a programme to mark the start of redevelopment work of Mahatma Gandhi Setu in Patna which the Prime Minister was to address via video conferencing has been postponed.