Two elephants, including a calf, died within three days in northern Chhattisgarh. Five villagers got arrested for killing a seven-year-old female elephant with live wires used to protect crops. Meanwhile, a decomposed calf carcass was found in the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, raising serious concerns about wildlife surveillance.
Raipur: Two elephants, including a calf, have died within three days in adjoining districts of northern Chhattisgarh, with five villagers arrested for allegedly electrocuting a seven-year-old female elephant using live wires laid to protect crops. In a separate incident, a decomposed calf carcass was found inside the Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve, raising concerns over wildlife surveillance.
The female elephant was found dead on Tuesday in the Kuswamunda forest under Udaipur forest range in Surguja district. A forest department investigation established that it had died after coming into contact with illegally laid electric wires.After questioning around 12 suspects, officials arrested five residents of Sukhribhandar village -- Jagmohan Manjhwar (41), Bharos Manjhwar (41), Paras Manjhwar (41), Budhram Manjhwar (41) and Ratanram Manjhwar (37).According to forest officials, the accused had allegedly drawn electricity from a nearby power pole to electrify wires around a sugarcane field, about 700 metres from where the elephant was found. The arrangement was intended to keep wild animals away from crops.Investigators found that Bharos allegedly connected the wires to the power supply between 7 pm and 8 pm and disconnected them around 4 am to avoid detection.
On the night of the incident, Jagmohan allegedly extended an electrified wire towards the forest, which the elephant came into contact with. After discovering its death, Ratanram, Budhram and Paras allegedly removed the wires and dumped them in a nearby check dam to destroy evidence.
Udaipur forest ranger Fenku Choubey said all five accused had been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.Meanwhile, another elephant death was reported on Thursday from neighbouring Surajpur district. The carcass of a two- to two-and-a-half-year-old calf was found in the Lalmati forest near Judwania, in the Chandni-Biharpur area of the tiger reserve.Villagers spotted the carcass and alerted forest officials. Its advanced state of decomposition suggested that the calf had died three to four days earlier. The cause of death is yet to be established through veterinary examination and post-mortem findings.
The discovery has raised questions about patrolling inside the reserve, with villagers questioning how the carcass remained undetected for days. Attempts to contact reserve officials for details were unsuccessful.The deaths come amid rising human-elephant conflict in northern Chhattisgarh, where encounters have claimed lives of both people and elephants. A solitary male elephant, locally known as Kabra Kaan, has been linked to several fatal attacks across Surajpur and adjoining districts, prompting authorities to initiate measures to capture and monitor it.
While illegal electric fencing remains a major threat to elephants moving through farmland and forest corridors, the calf's death has brought wildlife surveillance inside protected areas under scrutiny.