Chhattisgarh: Elephant dies after getting electrocuted, one arrested

Balrampur: An accused was arrested by the forest department team in Chhattisgarh's Balrampur in connection with the death of an elephant, officials said.
Nikhil Saxena, Forest Department Ranger, said that the elephant died due to electric shock. The forest department team recovered bamboo poles and pegs along with open GI wires from the site of the incident, he added.
"A group of nine elephants from the Balrampur's Wadrafnagar forest area diverted to the Manikpur forest circle while roaming around. Of nine, six elephants were in the forest area adjoining Murka village last night, and one elephant got separated from the herd. The elephant died after getting trapped in the live wire installed by the accused," Saxena said.
The accused, who cultivates paddy, made these arrangements to protect the crop. As this happened, a male elephant died after coming in contact with the live wire at night. The forest department team reached the spot of the incident and after the post-mortem, the accused who belonged to Murka village was arrested.
Further action was being taken against the accused and an FIR was being registered under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the official said, adding that the bamboo poles and pegs along with the GI wire have been seized.
In another incident, an elephant calf was injured in a suspected bomb explosion in Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve in the Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh, said a forest official on Monday.
Varun Jain, the Deputy Director of Udanti-Sitandi Tiger Reserve said that a team of doctors and a bomb squad had been called from the capital city Raipur.
"We received information about the scattered blood in the Udanti-Sitandi Tiger Reserve, which is also a zone of elephant roaming. Upon receiving the information, the Anti-Poaching team traced the footsteps in a 6-7 km area and after that, we got to know that an elephant was injured. After that our team through drone cameras found an elephant calf (5-6 years old) that has injuries on its legs and mouth. So, possibly, it is the same injured elephant. At the same time, we have found a part of 'potash bomb' near the premises, which indicates that the calf was possibly injured after eating and walking on that bomb," Jain told ANI.