Shillong, Feb 15: The Meghalaya government has named retired Justice RS Chauhan as chairman of an inquiry commission to probe the Thangsko illegal coal mine disaster, which resulted in the deaths of over 30 people.
Two non-judicial members were also appointed – retired senior police officer Heimonlang Nongpluh and retired senior civil servant Peter S Dkhar.
Justice Chauhan has previously served as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court and the Telangana High Court. Nongpluh was Additional Director General of Police of Meghalaya. Following his retirement, he was appointed Chief Information Commissioner and then member of the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission.
Dkhar held various positions in the civil service, including as Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi HIlls. Following his retirement he was appointed as interlocutor in the failed attempt to strike a peace deal with the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).
The inquiry will also look into broader illegal mining concerns in the state, including why illegal coal mining persists in the state, the feasibility of a financial package for miners and possibilities of an exemption for traditional mining practices.
The police have also begun their own probe into the disaster with the formation of a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT). The SIT is headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Eastern Range) Vivekananda S Rathore. The SIT has been tasked with ascertaining causes and circumstances, probing violations of court orders and National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions and submitting time-bound findings.
Seven people have so far been arrested and authorities say thousands of metric tonnes of illegal coal have been seized amid intensified raids on labour camps in coal-bearing areas of East Jaintia Hills. However, these seizures demonstrate how freely illegal coal mining takes place despite a decade-plus-long ban on rat-hole mining.
