RANCHI: A wild elephant was killed after coming into contact with an electrified wire, installed to protect crops in Kusi Tola of Komar village, under Balumath police station of Latehar.
According to locals, a villager had set up an electric wire around his home to protect his crops and house from the herd of elephants, which has been quite active in the region for the last few weeks.
One of the elephants from the herd came into contact with the wire, resulting in its death on the spot. After receiving information about the incident, a team from the Forest Department and Balumath Police arrived at the spot and initiated an investigation.
Forest Department officials inspected the site and gathered information from the villagers.
According to reports, Bifa Oraon, a resident of Kusi Tola, had a maize crop growing around his house. About five days ago, a herd of wild elephants had entered the village to eat the maize and damaged the standing crops.
“Anticipating the elephants’ return, Bifa Oraon had installed an electric wire around his home to keep the animals away from his crops and property and connected it to a power supply,” said a villager, Pappu Mahto. As expected, the herd returned to the village, and one of the elephants came into contact with the live wire and was electrocuted, he added.
According to villagers, the trumpeting of several other elephants was heard during the night, raising the possibility that some of them may also have been injured after coming into contact with the live wire. However, there is no official confirmation of this.
Ranger Nand Kumar Mehta stated that the circumstances surrounding the elephant's death are being investigated.
“A medical team has been summoned to the site, and a post-mortem examination of the elephant will be conducted,” said the Ranger. The official cause of death can only be confirmed after the post-mortem report is received, he added.
According to the Ranger, all aspects of the incident are being examined. They are also investigating how the electricity was supplied to the wire installed around the house and how the elephant came into contact with it, he said.
Notably, this is not the first instance of elephant deaths in the Balumath area. In October 2025, the carcass of a young elephant was found in a paddy field. Prior to that, in July 2022, an elephant was found dead in the Renchi forest of Balumath.
