A civil society group on Thursday demanded the arrest of a Cabinet minister’s brother for allegedly carrying out illegal mining and holding him indirectly responsible for the death of six coal miners in East Jaintia Hills district recently.
The East Jaintia Hills National Council (EJNC), president, Sambormi Lyngdoh has claimed the coal mine where the mining accident occurred belongs to Excise department Minister, Kyrmen Shylla’s brother Bison Shylla. He alleged that the “inaction” by the government against the mine owners indicated that the mine owners have political backing. Shylla is from the United Democratic Party, which is a key ally in the National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government. Rubbishing the allegation, excise minister said, “As far as I know, my brother is not involved in the incident but police should investigate to find out who is the owner of the land and take action as per as the law of the land.” Shylla won from the Khliehriat constituency in East Jaintia Hills district and vocally opposes the coal mining ban in the coal-rich district in particular.
Lambasting the Home Minister Lakhmen Rymbui for inaction, Lyngdoh said if the Home Minister doesn’t take action, EJNC would be compelled to file an FIR against the coal mine owners for carrying out mining illegally. On January 21, six miners died in a mining mishap. Five out of the six miners have been identified and were from Assam. The body of the sixth miner wasn’t identified till reports last came in. EJNC president alleged that the mine where the mishap occurred belonged to Bison Shylla and one Lar Bareh. He said that the victim’s family have claimed that they were working for Bison and one of his friends Tiewly Shadap are the ones carrying out the mining. Questioning the MDA government if it was trying to shield Bison Shylla and others having political connections, Lyngdoh said when the Ksan coal mining mishap happened the coal mine owner was immediately arrested. In the 2018 Ksan coal mining mishap, an unaccounted number of miners died in a coal mine accident when the walls of the mine burst and water from the nearby Lytein River flooded in. At least 17 miners died in the coal mine accident, one of the worst in Meghalaya’s mining history. The mining was being carried out illegally and the area too falls under East Jaintia Hills district.
