Baliguda: In a significant development in the much-discussed Belghar elephant death case, the Forest Department has arrested four more persons in connection with the illegal killing and attempted concealment of an elephant carcass.
The department has also seized two Max pickup vehicles allegedly used by suspended Deputy Range Officer Binay Kumar Bisi to transport and conceal the elephant’s carcass.
Among the newly arrested are two hunters from Jhiripani village—Thabir Patra and Sikson Patra—who were directly involved in the incident. Acting on their arrest, forest officials seized three country-made guns, hunting wires, and a large cache of wildlife contraband, including horns, bones, skins, and tusks of wild animals.
Suspended Deputy Range Officer Binay Kumar Bisi has also been arrested along with two drivers from Kesinga—Alekh Hial and Dusmant Podha—who allegedly assisted in disposing of and concealing the elephant’s carcass. All three have been forwarded to court.
According to investigators, the elephant’s carcass was initially buried on January 5 at the Kadapana nursery in the Munduti forest to suppress information about the death. Subsequently, the carcass was reportedly cut into 32 pieces and reburied near a canal in Kesinga tehsil of Kalahandi district, indicating a deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy evidence.
Forest officials stated that Deputy Range Officer Bisi had provided false information to the Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) and senior officials in an effort to cover up the incident. He was later placed under suspension, while his driver Hrushikesh Panda had been arrested earlier in the case.
The Forest Department has reiterated that strict action will be taken against all those involved in the illegal killing of wildlife and the subsequent cover-up, adding that further arrests cannot be ruled out.
