BIG EXCLUSIVE
Fresh concerns over the continued prevalence of illegal coal mining in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district have resurfaced following the death of a labourer from Assam, allegedly linked to unlawful coal mining activity reported on January 14, with Justice B.P. Katakey (Retired) seeking a detailed report from the Superintendent of Police, East Jaintia Hills, to be submitted by Monday. The incident is stated to have occurred at Umthe under Sutnga Elaka, once again highlighting the human cost of clandestine mining operations that persist despite repeated judicial interventions and official assurances.
The deceased has been identified as (L) Mosaid Ali (48), son of Riyasad Ali, a resident of Jamuna Moudanga, Nagaom, in Hojai district of Assam. Details surrounding the circumstances of his death emerged during a review meeting chaired by Justice B.P. Katakey (Retired), who has been appointed by the Meghalaya High Court to head the committee monitoring coal transportation and allied issues in the state.
Talking to Meghalaya News 24 after the meeting, Justice Katakey disclosed that preliminary information regarding the fatal incident had come to him from official sources. “Information I received about one incident that has occurred again in East Jaintia Hills district which resulted in death of a person from Hojai district in Assam. As per the information that happened on January 14th.” He said that immediately upon receiving the input, he sought confirmation from the police authorities to verify the authenticity of the information.
Justice Katakey subsequently confirmed that the incident has now been officially acknowledged by the police. “I have requested the police department to apprise me about that incident whether that information is correct or not. I’ve been informed today that yes such incident has occurred and they have also registered one case. The death of a person was also confirmed and they are investigating on that,” he stated.
He further revealed that additional material linked to the incident is currently under verification. “I have also received one video clips somebody has sent to me about some incident again the blast incident that they are verifying and in all probability they will be able to let me know whether that relates to recent January 14 incident or earlier incident or whether that incident leads to coal mining or not. Within a day or two they will inform me,” Justice Katakey said, indicating that the investigation may widen depending on the findings.
Senior district officials, including the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of East Jaintia Hills, were present at the meeting. Justice Katakey indicated that preliminary inputs from the district administration suggest a direct link to illegal mining. “January 14 incident is related to illegal coal mining activities. When asked he said verbally the Superintendent of Police informed me but I am expecting a report by Monday,” he added, underlining that a formal written report is awaited.
Placing the incident in a broader judicial and administrative context, Justice Katakey explained that the review meeting was convened to assess the overall ground situation following his earlier submissions to the High Court and subsequent court directions. “My meeting is relating to the taking overall stock of what’s going on, in pursuance of my last report submitted to the High Court and also the High Court’s order. As usual, the whole effort is to stop the illegal coal mining activities,” he said.
Further, Justice Katakey also disclosed that he has sought a separate detailed report from the East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police specifically on the December 23, 2025 blast incident, as part of the committee’s ongoing assessment of illegal coal mining-linked hazards in the district.
He asserted that another serious incident had already been established in the district. “One thing is sure that there was an incident of blast somewhere in East Jaintia Hills district on December 23, 2025. If it is related to coal mining activities, then I will pursue with that,” Justice Katakey said.
