Dumka | Feb 06, 2017: Two officials, including the manager of Tulsidabar coal mine site at Chitra, were on Sunday named as accused in connection with Saturday’s cave-in at the Deoghar-based ECL colliery in which two women died.

The other person against whom the FIR has been filed is an agent. This apart, security personnel, including those of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), are also under the scanner.

“Since the incident took place within the colliery area, which was being guarded by security personnel of both ECL and CISF, they too are responsible for the mishap,” Arwind Kumar, officer-in-charge of Chitra police station, said.

The OC added that the duo were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 424, 304, 379 and 411, all being non-bailable in nature. He said the accused would supervise the excavation of coal in the site.

Following the mishap, CISF personnel have also come under the scanner of police officials, for ‘overlooking’ the illegal practices in the area. “A probe is on to ascertain the names of all the responsible including those of the CISF and ECL guards so as to bring them to book” the OC added.

Meanwhile, general manager of ECL’s Chita colliery P K Singh admitted that the existence of malpractices in the area. “The tunnel in which the cave-in took place yesterday has been closed,” the GM said, adding stealing coal was a regular phenomenon.

A vast population residing around Chitra colliery are dependent on illegal coal mining. The coal is smuggled to faraway places through a well-established network.

“Anyone travelling in the locality will see people carrying illegally mined coal on bicycles and motorcycle to dump them at different places for further transportation,” Yudhisthir Singh Yadav, leader of a workers’ trade union said, adding the police administration chooses to remain ignorant about the prevailing malpractices.

The workers’ leader also blamed the management for being hand in glove with the coal mafias and not introducing measures to stop the illegal mining. Two women, belonging to nearby Damgarha village, were killed when a colliery wall caved in while extracting illegally coal from the prohibited area of the colliery.

(Source: http://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/)