At least four villagers were killed and six others seriously injured when a disused coal mine caved in during alleged illegal mining at the Karma Project site in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district early Saturday, according to local police and hospital officials. Rescue teams from the district administration and police have been working through the day to locate additional people believed to be trapped under the debris. The collapse occurred inside a closed pit that falls within the leasehold of state-run Central Coalfields Limited. Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vishal Kumar said the authorities reached the site shortly after dawn and recovered four bodies, while medical teams transferred the injured to Ramgarh civil hospital. Deputy Commissioner Faiz Aq Ahmed Mumtaz has ordered an administrative inquiry into how mining activity resumed in the abandoned shaft despite CCL’s security arrangements. Tension mounted in the surrounding villages as residents staged demonstrations outside the CCL Karma office, accusing the company of negligence. BJP state president Babulal Marandi called the accident “a result of official apathy” and demanded a high-level probe. Illegal scavenging of coal from shuttered mines remains widespread across Jharkhand’s coal belt, and officials said further action will be taken once the rescue operation concludes and the investigation report is submitted.