Sonbhadra mine tragedy: Four held; probe on, says SP

Varanasi: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday arrested four accused in the Nov 15 Billi Markundi mine tragedy, killing seven workers.Providing details of the action in the November 15 mine collapse at the site of Krishna Mining Works at Raspahadi in the Billi Markundi area under Obra police station, Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma said that with the progress in the investigation by the five-member SIT team led by CO, Obra, four accused, including mines manager Anil Kumar Jha (59) of Darbhanga (Bihar), currently dwelling in Ranchi (Jharkhand), mines staff Ajay Kumar (44) and Gaurav Singh (33) of Sonbhadra and mines mate Chandrashekhar (46) of Garhwa (Jharkhand), were arrested.The SP said, "During initial interrogation, they admitted irregularities in drilling, mentioning that explosive standards in the mine were not reported to the director of mines safety. Safety instructions were not given to labourers during drilling, nor were necessary precautions taken. Despite labourers refusing to work below in the mine, they were asked to work under pressure from mine owners and contractors. The mines manager and mate neither informed their senior officials about this serious risk nor attempted to stop the work."The SIT investigation also found that due to drilling beyond standards, the mine structure became weak, resulting in the sudden collapse of a huge portion of rock, killing seven labourers. The role of the mines manager and mines mate was prima facie found to be gross negligence, dereliction of duties and violation of safety standards.The SP said that the investigation is still in progress and the strictest action against the culprits would be ensured in this case.On Nov 15, while drilling for placing explosives at the stone mine of Messrs Krishna Mining Works in the Billi Markundi area, a large portion of the hill collapsed, resulting in the tragic death of seven workers who were buried underneath. Their bodies were recovered after over 65 hours of operations by NDRF, SDRF, CISF and police. A case under Section 105 BNS was registered at Obra police station before forming an SIT to probe the matter.

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