Note: Two stories within.
Sources said the elephant died nearly a fortnight ago and the death came to light when some locals, who had seen it sick, found the ashes. They claimed that the forest officials allegedly burnt the body claiming that the elephant died of anthrax.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Harsabardhan Udgata on Tuesday admitted that the elephant was cremated inside the forest as it had died of anthrax. He also said that another tusker is ill for nearly a week and is suspected to be suffering from diarrhoea.
“The tusker (20) was found moving in Gohirabhol and it seems to be recovering as it was seen raiding a banana orchard on Tuesday. We are monitoring its movement,” he added. “The viscera test conducted by the Animal Diseases Research Institute (ADRI) at Cuttack confirmed presence of bacillus anthracis, the anthrax organism in the female elephant,” the DFO added.
Four Held in Sonepur
Sonepur: Forest sleuths arrested four persons on Tuesday for allegedly charging solar fences with overhead high tension electric wire in Bahiramuhan village under Tithipali Reserve Forest of Tarbha block resulting in the death of two female elephants on November 22. The accused are Pramod Mishra, Kaustuv Mishra and Satrughan Kheti of Nuapada and Akula Banchhor of Bahiramuhan, under Tarbha police limits.