Post News Network
Bantala, Jan 18: Three months after a resident of Hidsing village under Bantala-Raiguda forest range in Angul district killed a tusker by electrocution and buried its carcass, forest officials during a raid recovered the decomposed skeletal remains Monday.
The forest officials also arrested prime accused Pratap Pradhan (34), Mangulu Dehuri (25) and Kumuda Jani (22) in this connection. They, however, failed to trace the tusks of the animal which, it was learnt, have been stolen by a co-villager and a dhaba owner in Andhra Pradesh.
A case under the Wildlife Protection Act-1972 was registered in this connection and further investigations are on. The remains were buried at the same spot after conducting a post-mortem. The dead tusker was aged about 40 years and had tusks measuring over three-ft long.
Forest officials dug up the ground at the backyard of Pradhan’s house and recovered the bones, skull, decomposed feet and flesh of the tusker. The tusker was electrocuted after it came in contact with live wires drawn from Pradhan’s home and laid on his farmland to prevent destruction of crops by rampaging elephants.
Forest officials claimed that the electrocution of the tusker was not a single man’s job and suspected the involvement of about 25 persons linked to an international racket. A manhunt has been launched to nab the other accused, forest officials said. PNN
