ROURKELA: A day after the carcass of a tusker was found at Oraghat village in Sundargarh’s Koida range, officials of Bonai forest division on Monday said the elephant was electrocuted to death by a farmer.
The tusker, aged around 20 years, was found dead in an agriculture field at Paramsahi hamlet of Oraghat village near Ganua proposed reserve forest on Sunday. Forest officials performed an autopsy with the help of a veterinary team and later buried the carcass.
Divisional forest officer (DFO) of Bonai Lalit Kumar Patra said the autopsy report confirmed that the tusker died due to electrocution. Burn injuries were also detected on its trunk. Investigation revealed that a farmer had intentionally put up live wire fencing along his house and adjacent farm field to prevent animal intrusion. The elephant came in contact with the charged fence and was electrocuted.
The DFO further said necessary steps are being taken to arrest the farmer responsible for the elephant’s death. Earlier, the regional chief conservator of forest AK Mishra visited the place where the tusker’s carcass was recovered. Members of the joint task force from the office of PCCF (Wildlife) and officials of TPWODCL also joined the investigation.