Baripada: Forest department officials on Monday arrested three brothers in connection with the death of a female elephant at Nakichua village under the Baripada Forest Division.
The accused have been identified as Biru Hansada, Sangaray Hansada and Tafan Hansada of Nakichua village.
Fearing an attack by wild elephants, three brothers allegedly decided to protect their home by laying wires around it and connecting wires to the power supply. Unfortunately, when a female elephant came into contact with the live electric wire, it resulted in her death, according to the Forest Department.
Going by the information provided by Rasogovindpur Ranger Ghanshyam Singh and ACF Rabindra Kumar Mohanty, the Forest Department team from Bhubaneswar and Similipal Divisional officials rushed to the spot and launched an investigation after receiving information regarding female pachyderm’s death. The investigating team conducted a thorough investigation and became sure about the involvement of local villagers behind the killing of the tusker after seizing GI wires near the spot where the elephant was found dead.
Later, the team discovered that the elephant’s death was caused by the electric fence installed by the three brothers. A special enforcement team of the Forest Department carried out a raid and arrested three accused brothers under the Wildlife Act and registered a case.
