Assam Worker’s Death in Illegal Meghalaya Mine Triggers Sealing and High-Level Review

A High Court-appointed monitor has sought detailed reporting to test video evidence that may broaden the investigation.

Overview

Mosaid Ali, 48, from Hojai district in Assam, collapsed and died on January 14 inside an illegal coal mine at Umthe village in East Jaintia Hills.
Police sealed the site, registered a case, and confirmed he was declared brought dead at Sutnga Community Health Centre.
Justice B. P. Katakey, appointed by the Meghalaya High Court, requested a detailed report from the East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police on the fatality.
Authorities are verifying video clips that could relate to the January 14 incident or to a December 23 blast reported in Thangsko, which remains inconclusively investigated.
The Meghalaya Human Rights Commission earlier sought a government report on mining-related deaths, as activists warn illegal rat-hole mining persists despite a 2014 NGT ban.