A female elephant, aged around 16 to 20 years, reportedly died of electrocution in a tea estate at Devarshola, near Gudalur, on Thursday.
The incident came to light when the people there saw a herd of elephants stationed at a Section 17 land near check-dam at Karakulli. On inspecting the place, forest personnel found the elephant dead under mysterious circumstances.
Investigations revealed that the farm land owner had illegally fenced his tea estate with electricity drawn from his house.
Forest personnel said that there was no wire there, and that the area was fenced at night and it was removed during the day.
Special teams
The department has formed special teams to nab Moideen (from whose house the wires were drawn) and three of his suspected accomplices who went under hiding.
Post-mortem conducted
Forest Veterinarian E.W. Vijayaraghavan from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve conducted a post-mortem, after which the remains of the elephant were buried in a nearby forest area.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/elephant-electrocuted/article8165223.ece