Crowd loots grapes after truck topples into Darbhanga river

Patna: From fish in Sitamarhi to grapes in Darbhanga, Bihar has witnessed a troubling trend — locals rushing to loot goods from accident sites while victims lie injured or dying. The latest incident occurred on the Aterbel bridge, where a grape-laden truck toppled into a river on Thursday.

The accident took place in Darbhanga’s Singhwara police station area after a truck lost balance, causing the grapes to spill into the river. A large crowd soon gathered, with locals wading into the water to collect the floating fruit. Videos circulating on social media show people entering waist-deep water to gather grapes. By the time a police team reached the spot, most of the grapes had already been looted. However, the driver and helper were safely rescued.


According to Singhwara Police, the truck went out of the driver’s control and plunged into the river. Both the driver and helper sustained minor injuries and were rescued.

Immediately after the mishap, villagers rushed in with buckets, baskets, bags and sacks to collect grapes. Some were even seen sitting on the riverbank, cleaning and eating the fruit. The situation quickly turned chaotic as people competed to take home as much as they could.

Singhwara SHO Basant Kumar said police tried to control the crowd and clear the river, but a large quantity of grapes had already been looted. A crane was later deployed to pull out the damaged truck. Police are identifying those involved in the loot using viral videos.

This incident comes barely a month after a similar case in Sitamarhi, where people looted fish spilled from an overturned pick-up van while ignoring a fatal accident that killed 17-year-old Ritesh Kumar.

The Class 11 student, on his way to morning classes, died on the spot, but locals rushed to gather fish instead of informing police or removing with the body.