Body of missing Assam youth recovered from coal mine tunnel after 3 months
Police said the 25-year-old man was working in an illegal mine on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and its operators and his co-workers buried his body in a tunnel of a nearby mine
The body of a 25-year-old Assam man, who had gone missing from a coal mine nearly three months ago, was found in a tunnel in Tinsukia district close to the Arunachal Pradesh border on Friday, police said
The decomposed body of Pranjal Moran, who had been missing since January 12, was found in a tunnel from a coalfield operated by Coal India Limited (CIL).
He had left home in Tinsukia in January to work in an illegal colliery at Ledo in the same district.
The case hit headlines after Moran’s wife Urvashi met Assam director general of police (DGP) GP Singh last week and the latter ordered an inquiry by inspector general of police (IGP) Jitmol Doley. Fresh efforts were undertaken with help from national and state disaster response forces (NDRF & SDRF) and equipment provided by CIL to locate the body.
“Moran was working in an illegal mine on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and reportedly died following an accident. After this, the operators of the mine and his co-workers buried the body in a tunnel of a nearby mine and informed his family that Moran was missing,” Tinsukia police chief Gaurav Abhijit Dilip said.
Police said that a missing person report was lodged, but there was no headway in search operations due to the area’s location being close to a mountain and inclement weather conditions.
Eighteen people including the mine’s operators were also arrested in connection with Moran’s disappearance.
“On Thursday, two more people who were believed to have hidden Moran’s body were arrested. Following their disclosures, the body was recovered on Friday morning. It was in a decomposed state and identification was done on the basis of clothes and shoes,” Dilip said.
“As a precaution we have taken DNA samples from the body to reconfirm its identity. It will be handed over to family members on Friday evening,” he added.
Dilip said that recovery of the body and the fresh arrests will help complete the investigation into the case and a charge sheet will be submitted soon. Police are probing murder angle, criminal conspiracy and illegal coal mining rackets operating in the area.
“I am thankful to the police for locating my husband’s remains. But my demand for action against those who killed him remains,” Moran’s wife Urvashi told reporters.
