Meghalaya govt orders judicial probe into East Jaintia Hills mining tragedy

The Meghalaya government has decided to constitute a Judicial Inquiry Commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act to investigate the recent mining tragedy in the Mynsngat–Thangsko area of East Jaintia Hills district, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, as the death toll in the incident rose to 27.

Officials said six of those killed were from Assam, highlighting the inter-state dimension of the tragedy and the continued migration of workers to illegal coal mines in the region. 

Several of the victims were daily-wage labourers who were working in hazardous conditions when the incident occurred.

The blast and subsequent cave-in at the illegal mining site triggered a massive rescue and recovery operation involving the police, disaster response teams and local authorities. 

Bodies were recovered over several days amid difficult terrain and safety concerns, while the possibility of more victims being trapped could not be ruled out earlier.

The incident has once again exposed the persistence of illegal rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya, despite a long-standing ban and repeated warnings about the dangers associated with such operations. 

Announcing the judicial inquiry, the Chief Minister said the commission will examine the sequence of events leading to the tragedy, identify lapses and fix responsibility. The findings are expected to form the basis for legal action and policy measures aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.

The government said it remains committed to ensuring justice for the victims’ families and to taking stringent action against those found responsible, as public outrage continues to grow over the scale of the tragedy.