Ramgarh: Four men who allegedly entered an illegal mine at Argada in Ramgarh district on Saturday to extract coal died of asphyxiation after inhaling toxic gases, police said.
The deceased were identified as Deva Bediya, 30, and Dablu Bediya, 36, from Chhotki Tongi village in Hazaribag district, and Kishore Ravani, 33, and Ashish Kumar Natwar, 27, of Budh Bazaar in Sirka, Ramgarh.
Naveen Prakash Pandey, officer in-charge of Ramgarh police station, said the villagers became unconscious after entering a nearly 40-ft-deep illegal mine. Prima facie, he said, they died after inhaling toxic gases and due to oxygen deficiency. They were shifted to a hospital in Ramgarh, where doctors declared them brought dead. Police later sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.
Authorities of Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) in Argada said the incident occurred in a forest outside the company’s leasehold area. Satyajit Kumar, general manager of CCL, Argada, said the four villagers lost consciousness because of suspected oxygen deficiency in the unauthorised mine on forest land.
In a statement, state BJP president Aditya Sahu demanded the government lodge cases against the deputy commissioner and SP for failing to curb illegal mining in Ramgarh district.
