BHUBANESWAR : The ongoing investigation into the Belghar elephant death case has taken a twist with possibilities of more than one carcass buried at the sites spread across Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts.
The issue has come to light after the Forest department asked the Centre for Wildlife Health (CWH) at OUAT, Bhubaneswar, to determine whether the bones recovered from the spots belong to more than one pachyderm.
RCCF Vishwanath Neelannavar had earlier confirmed that one carcass was cut into 32 pieces to cover up the case of an elephant electrocution.
However, recovery of the bone pieces from two places - Tahansir and Jhiripani in Kalahandi and Kandhamal districts, raise suspicion of carcasses of multiple elephants.
The key accused Binay Bisi, the deputy ranger, who was also the in-charge ranger of Belghar, has already been placed under suspension for hiding the facts and tampering with evidences in the case.
While Bisi is on the run since the incident surfaced, forest officials have arrested the driver of the forest ranger Hrushikesh Panda after it was revealed that an earthmover was used to bury the carcass.