SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Nov 29: The security arrangements of a coal company have been exposed yet again as the NDRF team searched for four alleged coal thieves in mines while they were found in their village.
Four villagers were feared to be trapped in Parvatpur open cast mines of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) under Amlabad police station of Bokaro district during illegal mining on November 26 (Friday) evening.
They were allegedly trapped during illegal mining when the coal roof reportedly caved in. When the coal company’s rescue operation to trace the trapped persons failed, an NDRF team was called from Ranchi on November 28 (Sunday) evening to rescue them.
However, before the NDRF team started its operation, officials got the information that all the four trapped persons were seen in their village, Tilatand.
This is the second time within a month in the coal belt that police searched for coal thieves inside mines while burglars were in their village.
On November 1, over a dozen unidentified armed criminals were feared to be trapped in Bhagyalaxmi coal mines of the Mugma area of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). CISF and Dhanbad police teams searched for them in the mines for four continuous days but failed to catch any of them as they had already escaped.
In the Parvatpur open cast mines incident, which occurred on November 26, the Bokaro district administration called an NDRF team from Ranchi on Sunday at the request of Chandankyari MLA Amar Kumar Bauri after BCCL’s rescue team failed to find them.
A senior police officer of Bokaro district, who was monitoring the rescue operation, said that all the four managed to come out from mines but police had no evidence to book them. However, for the time being, the rescue operation has been suspended.
