RANCHI: According to forest officials, an elephant died in a fierce clash with another elephant in a jungle area in Sagarkattha and Ronmara villages under the Tonto police station area in West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand.
The elephant's tusks were found to be missing from the spot, raising concerns among forest officials.
Notably, a herd of elephants was active in the Jhinkpani area when the incident took place.
According to forest officials, the incident occurred when two male elephants, separated from a larger herd roaming in the Jhinkpani police station area, engaged in a violent clash.
“A fierce fight between two male elephants over dominance near Sagarkatta and Ronmara villages resulted in the death of one tusker on the spot late Tuesday night,” said a forest official requesting anonymity.
The incident took a serious turn when forest officials discovered that one broken tusk of the dead elephant was missing from the spot.
Though the forest officials believed that tusks can naturally break during such clashes, the disappearance of the tusk has raised strong suspicions of illegal activity.
Possibilities are being probed regarding elephant tusk smuggling, local theft and the involvement of organised external smuggling gangs.
Although poaching has not yet been officially confirmed, investigations are underway in all angles.
Chaibasa Forest Divisional Officer Aditya Narayan personally visited the spot along with a special team to take stock of the situation.
The department has initiated questioning of nearby villagers, intensified forest patrolling and stepped-up monitoring of elephant movement using drones and tracking devices.
Meanwhile, tension spread to nearby areas as a herd of elephants moved onto the railway tracks near Jhinkpani on the Chaibasa–Dangwaposi railway line.
Rail traffic was disrupted for nearly an hour, causing inconvenience to passengers. Forest officials, however, managed to safely guide the elephants away and clear the tracks.
A high alert has been issued across the forest division. Officials reiterated that the safety of both wildlife and villagers remains the top priority and warned that any form of poaching or illegal activity will be dealt with strictly.
