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Meghalaya Orders Judicial Inquiry After Illegal Rat-Hole Mine Blast That Killed 27

Judges have demanded a full enforcement report within 10 days.

Overview

  • Rescue and recovery continued on Monday at the Mynsngat–Thangsko site in East Jaintia Hills, with the confirmed death toll at 27 and forensic work ongoing.
  • The state will constitute a Judicial Inquiry Commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act to establish causes, fix responsibility and recommend safeguards.
  • The Meghalaya High Court pressed the East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in person, set a 10‑day deadline for a comprehensive action report and warned accountability could include an independent or central probe.
  • District authorities invoked Section 163 of the BNSS to restrict gatherings near illegal sites, launched a manhunt for owners and financiers, and seized about 6,904 MT of coal, 63 detonators and 204 gelatine sticks, with 30 cases registered and camps dismantled.
  • Police say dying declarations and preliminary findings point to a dynamite blast that ignited methane; two alleged mine owners, Shamehi War and Forme Chyrmang, have been arrested and more suspects are being traced, as oversight panels flag roughly 22,000 rat‑hole openings in the district.