BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Wednesday placed a forester and forest guard under suspension for negligence of duty after two elephants were found electrocuted by poachers in the Joda section of Champua range in Keonjhar district on June 14.
The suspended forest staff are Joda section forester Pean Nayak and forest guard Dolagobinda Deo.
"Preliminary investigation in killing of the two elephants suggested negligence on part of the forester and the forest guard," said Keonjhar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Santosh Joshi.
The deaths had raised serious questions about field intelligence and patrolling as the forest officials of the section in Champua range were clueless about the incident till the locals informed them.
A known animal lover and actor Randeep Hooda had expressed concern over the matter seeking immediate action.
"Two elephants fall to poaching in #Orissa Tusk mining. Every such incident should be a wake up all to us. We can't let this carry on.. I hope culprits will be arrested & better protection to our wildlife will be provided," (sic) Hooda tweeted on Tuesday based on the report published in The New Indian Express.
Carcasses of the two elephants, a male and female, were found in a decomposed state in Gurubeda under the Baitarani B reserve forest of the Joda section.
Poaching was suspected as one of the tusks of the male elephant, said to be about eight-years-old, was missing.
Additional PCCF Sashi Paul and Rourkela RCCF Bhanja Kishore Swain along with Keonjhar DFO Santosh Joshi who went to the spot for investigation two days back found that the pachyderms were electrocuted by a trap set by poachers.
Forest officials also recovered the binding wire and other material used to lay the trap.
Further investigation is in progress to nab the poachers, forest officials said.