Gaurav Gogoi wants CBI to see to illegal mining syndicates in Assam, Meghalaya

Newly appointed Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday, 28 May, demanded a CBI inquiry into the alleged illegal coal mining syndicate active in Assam and Meghalaya, claiming that it would not have been possible to carry out such activities without "protection" from the central and state governments.

His remarks came over a month after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at 15 premises located in Jadigittim and Nongalbibra in Meghalaya, besides Jogighopa (Bongaigaon), Margherita (Tinsukia) and Guwahati in Assam, as part of a money-laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal coal mining and coke plants running in Meghalaya.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gogoi said ED investigation revealed that the "syndicate" having persons from Meghalaya and Assam is in-charge of ensuring that the trucks containing illegal coal clear the borders of Meghalaya and enter Assam, without any checking and restrictions.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP governments at the Centre and in Assam, or from the government of Meghalaya.

"The syndicate used to charge Rs 1.27 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh per truck from the mine owners in the name of commission, patronage in cash. The illegally mined coal was stored at depots located at Jogighopa in Assam," Gogoi claimed, citing the ED probe.

"It is further revealed that the cash so generated in the process was collected by the syndicate and was being stored at the places of the cash handlers. These cash handlers were searched and diaries containing cash in-out were also seized," he said.

It was further revealed that the coal mine owners and the syndicate people used to coordinate with the illegal coal mine operators in Margherita, Tinsukia, to make it appear to be mined from legally sourced miners, he said.

"During the search, cash of Rs 1.58 crore, digital devices like laptops, mobile phones and two high-end vehicles suspected to be purchased out of the proceeds of crime were seized. We welcomed this move, because we have been continuously raising the issue that illegal coal mining is going on in Assam," Gogoi said.

On the contrary, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been saying that no such work happens in the state, but this action of ED has proved the chief minister is "lying", the Congress leader said.

"However, when no arrest and investigation took place after this action, our suspicion went towards ED. In such a situation, the question is whether the work of ED was limited only to this," he said.

Without "political protection" to the nexus from the central and state governments, this would not have been possible, Gogoi said.

"Thus, we demand a CBI inquiry. This shows the menace despite rat-hole mining being banned... The fact that all this was made public and yet the state government has taken no action shows that some politically important people are involved in this and that's why they don't want further action on this," Gogoi said.

In the press conference, the Assam Congress chief said the other problem that is wrecking the societies of the Northeast is drugs.

"The amount of drugs coming from Myanmar is unfortunate. Why are the BJP and its allies, despite being in power in the Northeast and Union minister Amit Shah visiting the region multiple times, still unable to wrest this menace of drugs?" he said.

Gogoi pointed out that the minister of excise and narcotics in Mizoram has himself said that there has been an increase in the smuggling of narcotics into Mizoram.

"In addition, between April 2024 and Jan 2025, 34 kg of heroin, 34 kg of methamphetamine, 329.7 kg of ganja, 1.31 kg of nitrazepam and 152 kg of cough syrup were also seized.

"A total of 458 people were booked for drug trafficking. The number of arrests is only increasing. This means that these arrests have no deterrent effects on the supply and movement of drugs. We have raised this in Parliament also," he said.

A similar situation exists in Meghalaya, where the state minister has said that the total number of addicts in Meghalaya is roughly three lakh, which is 10 per cent of the population, Gogoi said.

"This indicates an alarming rise in drug abuse. The most frightening aspect of this statistic is that the majority of the drug users are between the ages of 15-29," he said.