HC summons East Jaintia Hills DC, SP to appear in court
Shillong, Feb 9: The state government has decided to constitute a Judicial Inquiry Commission to investigate the tragic accident inside a coal mine, claiming at least 27 lives of mine workers, at Mynsngat-Thangsko in East Jaintia Hills district.
Announcing the decision in a social media post on Monday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, “The Government has decided to constitute a Judicial Inquiry Commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act to investigate the recent tragic mining incident.”
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya High Court has taken cognizance of the incident and summoned the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP) to appear in the court in the next date of hearing.
“In connection with the illegal coal mining blast that occurred on February 5, the Hon’ble High Court has taken cognizance and called the DC and SP of East Jaintia Hills for personal appearance. Since the matter is sub judice, we cannot comment much at this stage,” East Jaintia Hills SP Vikash Kumar told reporters.
Assuring that police have made progress in the investigation into the incident, he said, “The investigation is ongoing. We have made arrests, and the probe is moving in the right direction. We are confident that it will be brought to its logical conclusion.”
The two arrested mine owners – Forme Chyrmang (36) and Shamehi War (42) – have been remanded in three days’ police custody.
Dismissing speculation that rescue efforts had slowed, the SP confirmed that operations are continuing despite challenging conditions.
“The search and rescue operation is still ongoing. It was carried out yesterday as well though no body could be recovered. The operation continued today,” he said.
He added that the duration of the rescue efforts would depend on inputs from the agencies, including National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and other specialised rescue teams, taking into account the difficult terrain and ground conditions.
