BHAWANIPATNA/BERHAMPUR : Forest officials on Wednesday evening recovered the mutilated carcass of a sub-adult elephant buried nearly seven feet underground near Tahasir dam in Kesinga block of Kalahandi district.
Officials suspect that the remains belong to an elephant found dead on January 5 in Jhiripani forest of Baliguda division’s Belghar range in Kandhamal district.
Sources said the recovery was made following complaints from local residents about foul smell emanating from Tahasir dam area. Acting on the information, forest officials excavated the site using an earthmover and retrieved remains of the elephant including parts of the trunk, neck and other organs. To maintain secrecy during the operation, a green barricade was erected around the site.
A special joint task force from Bhubaneswar, led by Baliguda divisional forest officer (DFO) Ghanashyam Mahanta, reached the spot with officials from Kalahandi division. Veterinary experts later conducted postmortem on the elephant remains at the site.
DFO Mahanta said if it is ascertained that the remains belong to the elephant found dead in Jhiripani forest, those involved in dismembering and shifting the carcass would not be spared.
Earlier, preliminary investigations had confirmed that the elephant died in Jhiripani forest area on January 5, but the carcass was allegedly dismembered and secretly removed from the original site. Based on circumstantial evidence, Belghar forest ranger Binay Kumar Bishi was suspended on Tuesday. However, the suspension order could not be served as Bisi has since gone absconding, further deepening suspicion.
Several senior forest officials had earlier visited Baliguda after the incident sparked outrage, and multiple inquiries were initiated. Forest officials had refrained from making detailed comments, stating that the investigation was underway.