Dhanbad/Ranchi: At least 12 miners are feared to be trapped in an illegal coal mine in Jamunia, about 40 km from the headquarters of Dhanabad district, with some fear, the villagers and politicians said on Wednesday.Police, administration and Bharat Coking Coal Limited, however, said that they have not received any indication of me so far.The alleged incident snowed into political brick-sacrificing, as both governing and opposition parties attacked each other on illegal mining threat in the coal belt and on a large scale.“Twelve laborers get trapped, while some others who managed to escape are treating private hospitals. The families of the trapped workers are being offered Rs 10 lakh as compensation. It is a racket where laborers are brought from other districts and are used for illegal mining. After the accident, the entrance point was filled with mud to hide the incident, “Giridih MP Chandra Prakash Chaudhary claimed.On the other hand, Jamshedpur West MLA Sariyuu Roy wrote on X on Tuesday, “At a place called Jamunia in Bagmara, Dhanabad, the tunnel used for illegal mining collapsed, resulting in nine workers who died. Talking to the media, he held the local administration accountable. Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Aditya Ranjan told PTI, “We have taken an NDRF team to the spot, but no such indication has been found so far.” Dhanbad SSP Prabhat Kumar said that he had directed SDPO Bagmara to conduct an inquiry. Kumar also told PTI that “no such incident was found”. He said: “In addition, no one from any side including family members.Regional Nodal Security Officer of Block -2 project of India Coking, Rajiv Ranjan also said that there was no such information about any such incident in the closed underground mine of Block -2 project.Minister of Health, Food and Civil Supplies and Disaster Management and Congress MLA Irfan Ansari, meanwhile, accused India of protecting illegal mining and demanded appropriate compensation.The state Congress attacked the Center. Spokesperson Sonal Shanti said, “The safety of mines is fully managed by institutions like CCL and BCCL through CISF, which is directly under the center.” The BJP demanded a CBI inquiry. Spokesperson Pratul Shahdev said, “These are state-proposed deaths. The state government and local administration know about illegal mining, but mummy chooses to remain.”
