Gaurav Gogoi, a Congress MP from Jorhat, demanded that a thorough probe be conducted into syndicates and suspected illegal coal mining in Assam and Meghalaya. Speaking at a press conference at Jorhat’s District Congress Bhawan, Gogoi asserted that a “coal mafia” is flourishing under political cover and connected it to shifts in Assam’s leadership. He cited an April Enforcement Directorate action that allegedly exposed the use of fraudulent paperwork to carry coal that had been illegally mined in Meghalaya into Assam, with bribes of Rs1.5 lakh per truck.
The Congress MP claimed that neither the Assam nor Meghalaya governments had taken any noteworthy action. This makes me think of the Umrangshu incident, in which an illegal rat-hole mine claimed the lives of nine laborers. 245 comparable operations were found in Assam during a later investigation. Without political protection, this would not have been possible,” Gogoi claimed. “The coal syndicate has not been the subject of any serious investigation,” he continued. No serious arrests. The Assam government remains silent. So does Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.”
Gogoi further claimed that Sarbananda Sonowal, the former chief minister, was dismissed for trying to break up the syndicate. When Sonowal took office, he pledged to abolish the coal syndicate. Even though he led his party to win a second time, it’s possible that his actions did not sit well with Himanta Biswa Sarma and his colleagues, which led to his departure. He also chastised the prime minister for failing to travel to Poonch to visit shelling victims.
