Dhenkanal/Keonjhar: Just a day after a female elephant died of electrocution in Sambalpur district, another succumbed after coming in contact with wire fencing illegally connected to a power line at a jungle near Bariharagadi village in Khajuriakata forest section and Hindol forest range in Dhenkanal district, Monday morning.
Age of the deceased female pachyderm was within 10 years, Forest officials said. On being informed, Forest officials arrested one villager, Prabhakar Sahu, 55, in this connection. A joint taskforce team led by CCF Manoj V Nayar, RCCF Sanjiv Kumar Swain, task force members Vivek Kumar, DFO Sumit Kumar Kar, Hindol ranger and other forest personnel reached the spot and launched an investigation, while veterinarians conducted a post-mortem examination of the carcass.
The accused villager had put up a fence around his farmland with wires illegally connected to a low-tension (LT) supply power line. Preliminary inquiries indicated that the animal was electrocuted after coming in contact with the charged wire fencing around the farmland. Meanwhile, in Keonjhar district, the carcass of an elephant was recovered close to a dam near Saleikana village under Telkoi forest range Monday. Forest officials were yet to ascertain the gender of the animal, which, they said, died a few days back.
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Forest officials launched an investigation, but the probe was halted due to heavy rainfall in the district. Telkoi forest ranger Shivaji Mohan Rao said he can comment on the issue after the probe is completed.
