BHUBANESWAR/BARIPADA: The team from PCCF headquarters on Friday carried out raids in some fringe villages to nab the accused involved in poaching a sub-adult elephant in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) earlier this week.
The PCCF team, which is camping in STR for the last couple of days, is yet to make any arrests in this connection. STR field director T Ashok Kumar said an officer in the rank of conservator of forest along with Joint Task Force members raided a few villages in the periphery of the tiger reserve. The search will continue till the accused involved in the incident are apprehended.
PCCF (Wildlife) SK Popli said the team is likely to submit its report in the next two days. Action will also be taken against officials if lapses are found on their part during the investigation. Forest staff recovered the carcass of an elephant with its tusks missing from the Gopinathpur beat within the Pithabata wildlife range of STR south division on Tuesday.
The extraction of tusks in this case looked similar to what was found in Athagarh. Like Athagarh, poachers here had also removed the tusks by cutting part of the head of the sub-adult elephant with a sharp-edged tool.