Taking a stern view of the illegal coal mining tragedy in East Jaintia Hills, the Meghalaya High Court on Thursday directed the incumbent District Superintendent of Police (SP), Pankaj Rasgania, and his predecessor, Vikash Kumar, to appear personally before the court next week.
The directive was issued by a division bench comprising Justice Wanlura Diengdoh and Justice Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the catastrophic blast at an illegal mine in the Thangsku area.
While the incumbent SP, Pankaj Rasgania—who took charge only last week—was present during Thursday’s proceedings, the court insisted on the presence of the former SP, Vikash Kumar, to provide clarity on the timeline of illegal activities leading up to the incident. Both officers have been ordered to remain present in the court when the matter is taken up on February 24.
The bench reviewed a status report submitted by the state respondents, which was filed in compliance with the court’s previous order dated February 9. The court’s move to summon the top brass signals an increasing focus on administrative and police accountability regarding the persistence of illegal “rat-hole” mining despite existing bans. The scale of the tragedy continues to worsen. The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) informed the court that the death toll from the February 5 blast has now risen to 34.
The latest victim, a local miner identified as Shanki Shullai, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. The blast has become one of the deadliest mining accidents in the state’s recent history, reigniting the debate over the implementation of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ban on illegal mining.