Man 'Dies' In Meghalaya Mine Explosion, Returns Home After His Last Rites

A mine worker who was among the 31 declared dead in the devastating explosion in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in East Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya has returned home alive, days after his last rites were performed.

The explosion in the unauthorised mine, purportedly caused by the use of dynamite, had occurred in the remote Thangsku area of Mynsngat village on February 5.

On February 9, the state government had called off search and rescue operations at the blast site after assessment teams concluded that there was no further possibility of locating survivors trapped inside the mine.

Shyambabu Sinha, a resident under Ratabari police station in Sribhumi district of Assam, walked into his village three days after he was believed to have been killed in the blast.

His sudden return has left both families and officials stunned - and has now cast serious doubt over the identity of the body that was cremated in his name.

Sources indicate that the body had been handed over after identification procedures that are now under scrutiny.

Questions are mounting over how such a mix-up could have occurred - was it panic, poor documentation, or deeper lapses at the site?

Meanwhile, the investigation into the explosion itself is intensifying.

Allegations of illegal mining networks, possible sabotage, and unsafe handling of explosives have already widened the scope of the probe.

What was initially reported as a tragic accident is rapidly unfolding into one of the most complex and baffling cases.