A 30-year-old male elephant was electrocuted at Saparoom village under Chandil forest range of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, officials said on Wednesday. Villagers discovered the carcass of the elephant in a paddy field early Wednesday morning, prompting them to inform forest officials.
Incident Details
Forest officials arrived at the scene and found a broken overhead power transmission cable coiled around the elephant's trunk, along with an uprooted electric pole lying nearby. According to villagers, the power cable had been hanging low for several days after a thunderstorm uprooted the pole.
Investigation Underway
DFO of Seraikela-Kharsawan, Saba Alam, stated that prima facie the death was caused by electrocution. However, the postmortem report and viscera findings will help determine the exact cause. The veterinary team conducted a postmortem examination and preserved vital organs for viscera analysis at forensic science laboratories in Ranchi and Bareilly.
A quick response team (QRT) was reportedly engaged in driving away an elephant herd to Purulia in West Bengal on Tuesday evening, close to the incident spot. Over the past 11 months, three elephants have died under suspicious circumstances in the Chandil range.
