GUWAHATI: Evidence suggesting that Northeast India was once part of a vast ocean has gone missing. A partially fossilized jaw and teeth, believed to belong to a whale ancestor from 35–40 million years ago, were reported missing by locals in Tolegre village, South Garo Hills district, Meghalaya, on January 27.
The fossils were originally discovered in a cave by a Core Geo Expeditions team in February last year. Subsequently, a Geological Survey of India (GSI) team had collected samples but the villagers took custody of a major part of the fossil. They asked the district administration to not visit the site as they wanted to preserve the site and its contents themselves.
Two FIRs were lodged, one by the villagers and another by a social activist.
“We are probing the incident. As of now, there are no suspects,” South Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Shailendra Bamaniya told the TNIE on Friday.
Palaeontologists and authorities are worried that a major piece of evidence which could explain the evolutionary landscape of the region is now lost.
“It was an ancient landscape. It could have helped understand the landscape evolution,” a palaeontologist said requesting anonymity.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma lamented the incident. “It is an unfortunate situation. We never expected this to happen. The police are conducting an inquiry. We hope they will be able to retrieve it soon,” he said.
He said the government had initial challenges because the land in question is under the Nokma (traditional custodian of Garo tribal clan land).
“It was very difficult for us to completely take over that area. The government would have been blamed had it forcefully taken control of the land (for better protection of the fossil),” he further stated.
According to Sangma, the government was able to only provide security to a certain level by closing the gates and accessibility to the site. He said the government had requested the locals not to create any disturbance till it was able to create a setup for the GSI.
“I hope the villagers will now allow the government to have its larger presence in that area. Earlier, when we intervened, there was a lot of public reactions and we had to step back,” he added.