Four villagers died in Jharkhand’s Karma coal mine collapse during illegal mining. An FIR was filed against CCL officials for negligence. Families will be paid Rs. 8 lakh compensation after overnight talks, and one family member per victim will get a job through outsourcing.
A tragic mining accident occurred at the Karma Project, part of CCL’s Kuju area in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district, where four villagers lost their lives following a coal mine collapse during illegal mining activity. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and has led to an FIR against senior officials of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), including the General Manager, Security In-charge, and other personnel for alleged negligence and failure in maintaining proper safety measures at the mine.
On 05th July 2025, in the morning, a group of villagers from Sugiya village near Mahuatungri entered the Karma coal mine, part of CCL’s lease area for illegal coal mining. During the activity, a section of the mine’s roof caved in, tragically trapped four individuals under the debris. The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Imtiaz Ansari, Vakil Karmali, Nirmal Munda, and Rameshwar Manjhi. Local authorities arrived at the spot shortly after the incident and discovered a crowd of villagers gathered around the collapsed site. A preliminary investigation revealed serious lapses in security and safety protocols by CCL officials, which enabled illegal mining to take place unchecked.
No Boundary Wall, No Security Monitoring
As per the inquiry report filed by Mandu (Ramgarh) Circle Officer Vimal Kumar Singh, the mine lacked essential protective measures such as boundary walls or effective restrictions to prevent unauthorized entry. Surprisingly, a security guard room was located just 75 meters away from the accident site, yet no preventive action was taken. This raises serious concerns over the monitoring and responsibility of CCL’s on-ground personnel. The report concluded that the management of Karma Project including the Project Officer, Manager, General Manager, Security Officer, and field security staff failed to enforce standard safety protocols, directly contributing to the accident. An FIR (No. 160/25) has been lodged at Kuju police station based on the statement given by the Circle Officer against the responsible CCL officials.
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Compensation Finalized After Midnight Talks
Following the incident, angry villagers and family members of the deceased staged a protest, demanding fair compensation. The protest continued late into the night, with intense discussions involving local administration, political leaders, and CCL management. Around 2 AM, a settlement was reached and the management agreed on a total compensation of Rs. 8 lakh for the families of the victims. As per the agreement, each family will receive Rs.1.70 lakh from the CCL management and Rs. 30,000 from the district administration. Additionally, one member from each victim’s family will be offered a job through CCL’s outsourcing system.
Formal Agreement Signed
The agreement was officially signed by the victims’ family members Gulshan Karmali, Budhan Manjhi, Mohammad Mumtaz, and Vijay Karmali along with CCL officials including Personnel Manager Avinash Kumar Srivastava, Sanjay Kumar Singh, and Project Officer Rameshwar Munda. After the agreement finalized, the families removed the bodies from the protest site in front of the Project Officer’s office and ended their demonstration.
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This incident has raised serious questions about the security lapses and administrative negligence in Jharkhand’s coal mining areas. Despite being a notified and restricted area under CCL’s operational control, illegal mining was taking place in broad daylight. Experts believe that without strong accountability and systemic reforms, such tragedies may repeat in the future.
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