BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday ordered a high-level probe into the death of a female elephant in electric hooking in Sambalpur district.
Expressing grief and concern over the matter, the chief minister assured that the persons involved in the incident will not be spared. “Strict action will be taken against the accused,” he asserted.
The chief minister’s office (CMO) stated that the female elephant was electrocuted early on Sunday morning after coming in contact with a live wire in Sarapali beat under Naktideul area of Rairakhol forest division in Sambalpur. The wire had allegedly been laid by an individual in the locality to steal electricity, the CMO said.
Acting on the CM’s instructions, a team of officers led by the chief conservator of forests (CCF) and chairman of the joint task force (JTF) Manoj V Nair left Bhubaneswar for Naktideul to investigate the incident. Apart from the state wildlife wing team, senior forest officers and officials of the Energy department also carried out probe at the site.
Meanwhile, PCCF (wildlife)-cum-chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha told The New Indian Express that the carcass of the female elephant aged about 11 years was found near the fence at around 3.30 am. The accused, Ambar Pradhan (55), has been arrested, he said.
Jha informed that the JTF in its preliminary investigation has found that the sub-adult female came in contact with a single stranded GI wire fence, which was connected to the main LT line, about 150 metre away from the house of the accused. The team also found that the motive of the illegal hooking was to prevent incursion of elephants into the paddy field.
“Further investigation is in progress and Rairakhol DFO Elavarsan K is overseeing the matter. The JTF will continue to offer handholding in the investigation and also support in foolproof preparation of case record to secure conviction,” the PCCF said. An official of the Energy department who was present at the site for joint investigation with forest officials, informed mediapersons that it was illegal to charge fences with direct current. “However, prima facie it has been found that the person had drawn an electric wire bypassing the metre,” he said.
Sambalpur RCCF T Ashok Kumar told the media that the person had given an undertaking that he won’t misuse the solar fencing. “The matter will be thoroughly investigated and action will be taken as per the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act and Electricity Act,” he said.
The death of the 11-year-old female jumbo has surfaced a day after another 40-year-old female elephant was found dead in the reserve forest near Serguda village of Angul district on Saturday morning. Forest officials suspect that the elephant in Angul died due to illness.
Sources said this is the fifth death of an elephant near solar fence in the last two months. The previous four cases had been reported from Angul and Satkosia regions.