BENGALURU: Coming under pressure from all quarters over the death of famed tusker Arjuna in Hassan during an elephant capture and radio collar operation, the State government has decided to constitute an expert panel committee to ascertain the cause of the death.
While forest department officials and committee members are yet to get the official orders, the committee is said to comprise retired Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ajay Mishra, Chief Conservator of Forests Shashwathi Mishra, and noted elephant expert R Sukumar. The committee is also likely to include a veterinarian from the animal husbandry department.
Sources in the government said: “There is a delay in issuing orders because some of the panelists are yet to confirm their availability, including the veterinarians, as each one has prior commitments.”
According to forest officials, the terms of reference of the committee are yet to finalised, but it will include objections raised by the mahout, shooting and darting details, postmortem and sample details, and statements of eye witnesses, staffers and veterinarians present at the spot. It will seek a detailed report on the exact cause of death and who is accountable for it.