Guwahati: The Tinsukia District Committee of the International Human Rights Council claims illegal coal extraction is bleeding the Margherita coal belt dry. Their first investigation report links organized crime to abandoned Coal India mines in the Ledo-Itakhola sector. Thieves use heavy excavators and dangerous rat-hole mining to pull coal from the earth.
The group alleges that dumpers and pickup trucks move the loot through an elaborate entry system. They identified several hotspots, including Deep Mine, Molung Pahar, Kalasuri, Lalsuri, Tamol Bagan, and Conference Field. A man known as Ganesh supposedly leads the syndicate. The report claims operators use a roadside dhaba at Itakhola to collect bribes from drivers. According to the committee, "a coal mafia, with the support of a Coal India official, has been operating the illegal trade for several years."
This illicit coal feeds at least five local brick kilns. The allegations follow reports that nearly 50 earthmoving machines recently tore through the Tinkopani Reserve Forest near the Jagun Forest Range. Those machines destroyed trees to build secret coal routes until the district administration and forest authorities stepped in to stop the felling.
The IHRC is holding back key evidence for now. They kept the names of the dhaba, brick kilns, and specific bagmen out of this first report. They promise to reveal more in later phases. The council is calling for a joint probe by the Tinsukia administration, North Eastern Coalfields, the Forest Department, Assam Police, and Railway authorities. If officials stay quiet, the group plans to launch protests and send a dossier to the Prime Minister and the President of India.
No government agency or law enforcement body has confirmed these claims yet. Authorities have remained silent on the allegations as of Friday.
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