VELLORE: The forest department has arrested one person in connection with killling and secretly burying a tusker who had been on a crop-raiding spree in a far-off village of Vellore.
On Monday, the carcass was exhumed for an autopsy.
A manhunt has been launched to nab two more persons, including the key accused.
The incident came to light when the forest personnel on patrolling duty in Gudiyatham Range found that one of the two straying elephants was missing. Enquiries revealed that the elephant was electrocuted to death as it had touched the electrified fence erected on the paddy field owned by S Pichandi of Kudimipatti village located near Gudiyatham.
Top officers including Chief Conservator of Forests (Vellore Circle) Sewa Singh and District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore Division, Bhargava Teja visited the spot on Sunday evening and held inquiries.
“After our personnel noticed one of the elephants was missing, an investigation was held secretly. On receiving a tip-off, we traced the perpetrators and nabbed one of them,” Sewa Singh told Express.
Subsequently, on Monday, the carcass was exhumed in the presence of DFO Bhargava Teja by a team of veterinarians.
The arrested person was identified as Selvaraj who had operated an earthmover to dig up a pit to bury the elephant after it was electrocuted.
The farmer, S Pitchandi, who had electrified the fence around his paddy field, and the owner of the earthmover Ashok are still at large, sources said, adding a hunt is on to nab them. Pitchandi’s farmland is located just 500 meters away from Paradarami Extension reserve forest.
The carcass of the tusker, presumed to be of 15 years old, was exhumed using an earthmover.
About 45 elephants, migrated from the nearby Koundinya animal sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh, have been straying in the forest area falling under the periphery of Tamil Nadu. “The elephants have come from the nearby animal sanctuary. It is an unprecedented incident that such large number of mammoth animals are migrating to the forest in Tamil Nadu. We have been taking all the steps to chase them away, but they come back soon after driven into the forests of the neighbouring State,” Sewa Singh noted.
He informed that the Forest department was instructed to keep a close vigil on the movement of animals in the wake of the death of the tusker and also sensitise the farmers against killing the straying animals and the consequences.