Cuttack, Feb 27: An elephant was found dead reportedly due to electrocution near the Kulailo village within the Athagarh forest range of Odisha’s Cuttack district today morning.
As per reports, some locals spotted the tusker’s carcass lying in the forest early this morning and alerted the Forest Department officials.
Upon getting the information, the officials arrived at the scene and examined the pachyderm before confirming that it had died.
Though the exact cause behind the tusker’s death is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that it died due to electrocution as its trunk was entangled in electric wires.
However, the forest department personnel claimed that the concerned wires were dead and had no live electric supply in them. They further clarified that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after post-mortem.
On the other hand, Kulailo locals claimed that the elephant was electrocuted and criticized the Forest Department and electricity officials for failing to detect live current in the wires.
They also alleged that the wires were hanging just five feet above the ground, posing a severe threat to both tuskers and humans.
Further investigation into the matter was underway.
