SHILLONG, JAN 6: East Jaintia Hills police have registered a suo motu case following the death of one person due to an alleged dynamite explosion in the district.
Superintendent of Police Vikash Kumar confirmed on Tuesday that only one victim identified as Ashok Tamang has succumbed to burn injuries in the Shillong civil hospital.
He added that a suo motu case has been registered under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for accidental death.
“Based on the dying declaration (of Ashok Tamang)… we have registered a suo motu case under 105 BNS related to accidental death.”
Kumar outlined the ongoing investigation and said, “During the course of investigation, we will determine where his workplace was and under what circumstances he was working.”
He further elaborated on Tamang’s dying declaration saying “In his dying declaration, he stated (before the doctors) that he was handling dynamite at his workplace, but he did not specify the exact location or circumstances. He never mentioned coal mining; he only said the incident occurred at his workplace.”
Asked, the SP said, “Yes, the Justice BP Katakey committee has sought a report on the incident. We will be giving all the details because there are two things at play – the video and the death of Ashok Tamang. We will have to examine both sides as these are different matters.”
Regarding the alleged video linking the incident to Thangsko village, Kumar said:
“As per (preliminary) investigation, it is not from that village…The headman and other members of Thangsko village stated they do not recognize the people in the video, the speaker, or the location. We cannot ascertain that a dynamite blast occurred there….”
The police investigation revealed that Tamang was first admitted to Sutnga Community Health Centre (CHC) on December 23, 2025 with burn injuries. He was later referred to Shillong Civil Hospital, where he died on January 1.
According to the SP, the Sutnga CHC has never informed the police about the case.
The police were informed only through the Shillong civil hospital’s police booth, leading to the registration of the case.
Meanwhile, Kumar has assured that police have already started investigation to ascertain the full facts and circumstances surrounding the death.
