Buguda: A tusker was electrocuted after coming in contact with an electric wire spread by poachers in a field at Manitara reserve forest near Digi village under Buguda forest range in Ganjam district Thursday.
Locals spotted the carcass Friday morning and alerted the forest officials. The officials swung into action and arrested three poachers in this connection. A 600 metre electric wire, six bottles and other equipment used for poaching were seized from them.
The three have been identified as Narayan Nayak of Tambhiri village, Shatrughan Nayak and Jalandhar Nayak of Digi village under Buguda police limits. A case was registered and a probe was launched.
According to officials, the three were regular offenders and poached wild animals by spreading livewires in the reserve forest. They spread an 11kv electric wire Thursday night and returned back in the morning to find the tusker electrocuted.
Fearing police arrest, they covered the carcass under a heap of paddy straw and fled from the spot. Alerted by locals, a team led by Buguda forest area officer Prasant Kumar Sahu reached the village and recovered the carcass.
The officials removed the tasks of the animal and buried the carcass after post-mortem. Later, South Ghumusar divisional forest officer Bijay Ketan Acharya and assistant conservator of forest Bibhuti Bhusan Behera launched a further probe into the incident. PNN
