A police constable lost his life while three others escaped with minor injuries after the boat in which they were chasing liquor mafia capsized in a distributary of the Gandak river in Bihar’s Gopalganj district on Wednesday.

The deceased constable has been identified as Rajesh Kumar, a native of Dobhi in Gaya district.

The automatic assault rifles belonging to the policemen were recovered from the riverbed.

The incident occurred at Rajwahi village under Yadopur police station in the district. It is a riverine area located along the Bihar–Uttar Pradesh border and is considered ideal for smuggling activities.

“A five-member police team was sent in search for liquor smugglers on the basis of intelligence inputs. They were trying to reach the targeted place and had to cross a branch of the Gandak on the way. They managed to get a small boat that could carry just four people. One policeman stayed on the banks,” Gopalganj superintendent of police (SP) Anand Kumar told The Telegraph.

Anand said the police team was carrying INSAS rifles with them. Though the incident occurred just a few metres from the riverbank, the water at the place was deep.

“It seems the boat lost its balance when a jawan tried to retrieve a rifle that fell into the water. This toppled the small boat and Rajesh was trapped under it and lost his life. He, most probably, did not know how to swim. Other police personnel managed to swim to safety,” the SP said.

Rajesh’s body will be handed over to his family after post-mortem. The district authorities will also provide Rs 4 lakh as compensation to Rajesh’s family.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed grief over the incident. Prohibition was imposed in Bihar in April 2016 but the mafia took deep roots soon afterwards and opened supply channels from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bengal and Nepal to Bihar.