Dhanbad/Ranchi: At least 12 miners are feared trapped in a caved-in illegal coal mine in Jamunia under Baghmara block, around 40 km from Dhanbad district headquarters, with some feared dead, local villagers and political leaders said on Wednesday. The police, administration and the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), however, said that, so far, they have not found any sign of mine collapse.The alleged incident, however, snowballed into a political brick-batting on Wednesday as both the ruling and coalition parties accused each other over the illegal mining menace in coal belt and the state at large. “Twelve labourers were trapped while some others, who managed to escape, were undergoing treatment in private hospitals. Families of the trapped workers were being offered Rs 10 lakh as compensation. This is a planned racket where labourers are brought from other districts and used for illegal mining. After the mishap, the entry point was filled with mud to conceal the incident,” Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Chaudhary claimed.On the other hand, Jamshedpur west MLA Saryu Roy on Tuesday wrote on X, “At a place called Jamunia in Baghmara, Dhanbad, a tunnel used for illegal mining collapsed, resulting in the death of nine workers. The illegal mining mafia is engaged in disposing of the bodies of the deceased. I have informed #SSP#Dhanbad about this,” he wrote on X. Talking to media, he held the local administration accountable for the mishap. Dhanbad deputy commissioner Aditya Ranjan told PTI, “We have rushed an NDRF team to the spot suggested but so far, no sign of any such incident has been found.”Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prabhat Kumar said that he has directed SDPO Baghmara to conduct a probe. Dhanbad senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prabhat Kumar told PTI, “As we received the information, we sent a team to the said location but no trace of any such incident was found. Additionally, no one from any side including family members turned up,” he added. “We have also requested BCCL to conduct a technical inquiry. So far, no formal complaint has been lodged from any side,” he told TOI. Regional nodal security officer of block- 2 project of BCCL, Rajiv Ranjan, also said there is no information of any such incident in the closed underground mine of block-2 project.Health, food and civil supplies and disaster management department minister and Congress MLA, Irfan Ansari accused the BCCL for patronising illegal mining demanding appropriate compensation. He said, “BCCL needs to be controlled first. They are patronising illegal mining with local mafia by engaging our innocent, poor workers. In case of mishap, they will be called as illegal miners to avoid giving compensation. I urge CM to announce appropriate compensation and take strict action. I will soon take up this matter with him.” State Congress hit out at the Centre as BCCL comes under it. “The security of the mines is entirely managed by institutions like CCL and BCCL through CISF which is directly under the Centre and the state govt has no control. Coal companies, for their benefit, leave mines insecurely open after mining instead of closing them permanently, promoting illegal mining. This is a centrally orchestrated murder,” said spokesperson Sonal Shanti. BJP hit back demanding a CBI probe. “It’s a state sponsored deaths and CBI probe should be instituted for such illegal mining and its related deaths. The state govt and local administration is aware about large scale illegal mining but chooses to remain mum,” said BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo.
