Assam: Police seize 4 trucks on NH 315, illegal mining network exposed
Digboi: Margherita Police have intercepted and seized four trucks carrying illicit coal, intensifying the spotlight on an entrenched illegal mining network and alleged corruption in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district.
The crackdown occurred Friday night along National Highway 315. The seized coal was reportedly sourced from unauthorized mining sites in Ledo and was en route to Guwahati, said police officials.
Police, conducting routine night patrolling, apprehended the trucks and took the drivers and handymen into custody. A detailed investigation is underway to dismantle the illegal operation, said an official.
"We never spare any illegalities, including the illegal coal trade," SP Tinsukia Abhijit Dilip Gaurav told North East Now on Saturday morning, highlighting recent successes in intercepting illegally procured coal-laden vehicles.
Ironically, areas near the crackdown—including Ledo, Paharpur, Borgolai, Malugaon, and Tipong—continue to feature visible, large heaps of illegally mined coal awaiting transport.
The Mafia Network and Security Failures
Sources indicate that a powerful Ledo-based coal mafia dominates the illegal trade, exploiting multiple police jurisdictions and moving coal primarily late at night. A former coal trader explained that while legitimate consignments are dispatched from nearby Kharsang mines in Arunachal Pradesh, these illegal vehicles operate in parallel, effectively "dusting the eyes of security agencies" and evading government revenue.
The sheer scale and persistence of the illegal mining operation have raised serious concerns about gross security failures. Critics and local residents are questioning the leniency of the Assam Police and the oversight failures of Coal India authorities in curbing the menace.
Pressing Questions Demand Answers
The operation comes as the government maintains that there are "no illegalities" in the coal trade in Margherita. The seizure forces pressing questions to the forefront: Who is funding and running these illegal coal empires?
Additionally, who is collecting 'entry fees' to ensure the safe, late-night movement of these trucks past checkpoints?
This police action is part of an ongoing, yet seemingly piecemeal, effort to curb illegal coal transportation, which persists despite a formal ban on mining in the Patkai Hills.
The seizure of these four trucks may be a temporary victory, but the audacity and scope of the operation reveal a deeply entrenched network that continues to thrive despite bans, regulations, and periodic police crackdowns.
With huge stockpiles of illegally mined coal waiting at several Assam-Arunachal border locations, parallel operations running alongside legal shipments, and questions mounting over the role of officials, experts and residents are calling for a transparent, decisive, and sustained action to dismantle the illegal coal empires and restore law and revenue integrity in the region.