Assam man, 24, who worked in illegal rat-hole coal mine, found dead

Police said the man, Naren Phukan a resident of the Itakhuli area of Tinsukia’s Ledo, was found dead on Wednesday evening after his neighbour tipped his family about his death.

SILCHAR: A 24-year-old man was found dead in a rat-hole coalmine in Molo Pahar area of Assam’s Tinsukia district on Wednesday.

Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually three-four feet deep, for workers to enter and extract coa (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said the man, Naren Phukan a resident of the Itakhuli area of Tinsukia’s Ledo, was found dead on Wednesday evening after his neighbour tipped his family about his death.

“He told us that he works for businessman Kshitish Debnath but we didn’t know that he was risking his life,” Phukan’s mother said.

Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually three-four feet deep, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are barely big enough to fit just one person.

Kshitish Debnath could not be contacted for his comment.

Tinsukia’s sub-divisional police officer Hemanta Kumar Dey said Phukan’s family filed a police complaint about his death. “The area is large and we are investigating the matter thoroughly,” Dey said.

Police suspect that the young man died due to inhalation of poisonous gas at the mine. Dey said the body has been handed over and the police is waiting for a final autopsy report.

The National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole coal mining in April 2014 but the order hasn’t been completely enforced.

Local residents in Tinsukia claimed that several men have been killed in illegal mining in the Ledo area. “Rat hole mines have been mushrooming in Margherita and Ledo. Coal smugglers run an organised racket in the area and they bring youths from financially backward families from various areas,” a local resident said who asked not to be identified.

In September last year, three workers died in rat-hole mine in Ledo and police said that they are going to launch a detailed investigation. Another death was reported in January this year and the family demanded proper investigation.

Asked about it, the Tinsukia police declined comment on the illegal mining in the district.