Soft-pedaling wildlife crimes, the Forest department way
BHUBANESWAR: In the second week of February, a dead elephant charred and buried in Athagarh forest division was dug up by the Special Task Force (STF). Worse, the local forest staff were found prima facie complicit in suppression of the case.
A month later, none has been arrested in what was a clear case of wildlife crime. Even the Forest department appears to be soft pedaling the incident because it all happened under the watch of its own employees.
The Forest department has now issued an order to suspend Ashok Kumar Behera, range officer of Narsinghpur West where the incident took place. He has been sent to RCCF Bhubaneswar circle and instructed not to leave the headquarters without prior permission from the authority during the suspension period. A disciplinary proceeding has been drawn against him. Earlier, a forester and forest guard had been suspended.
This is how wildlife crimes, more importantly death of elephants, are being investigated and brushed under the carpet in the State. Sad but true.
The OUAT experts who had carried out the autopsy had clearly stated that it could be a case of poaching as a traumatic and sharp cutting injury had been found near the cavity of the tusker and its carcass was charred before it was buried in the forest. Instead, the case is being dismissed as a natural death despite the fact that missing tusks were recovered only after STF investigation.
“This is a clear case of wildlife crime because the elephant death was not only suppressed, carcass burnt and buried but tusks were also hidden. If the STF had not probed and dug it up even in the face of resistance from local staff, the matter would never have come to fore. Criminal proceedings should have been initiated for disappearance of evidence and that would have sent a stern message,” said an insider of the Forest department.
The action against the range officer indicates the department’s lukewarm response to such a grievous wildlife crime, wildlife activists say. Behera was last posted as Range Officer in Chandaka Forest Division.
What’s worrying, this is not the first case of elephant death being suppressed in Athagarh division. Last year too, a similar case had been reported.
Athagarh DFO in-charge Sanjay Swain, however, said that as per investigation it turned out to be a case of natural death and the forester was placed under suspension for not following due procedure for burial of the elephant carcass and not reporting the same.
He also acknowledged that missing tusks were recovered from an undisclosed location. “Tusks can be removed from the carcass in the event of natural death too,” he added. Both STF and Forest department are reluctant to reveal details of the findings in their investigation.
DIG, STF JN Pankaj said the agency submitted the investigation report to Forest department for necessary action at its end. PCCF (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Shashi Paul couldn’t be reached for his comments.