HASSAN : In a joint operation by Sakleshpur rural police and forest officials, four persons were arrested and ivory worth `20 lakh was recovered from them in the reserve forest near Kadumane Coffee Estate on Sunday.
SP Ravi D Channannavar said the police acted on a tip-off and nabbed the accused while they were trying to transport the ivory to a neighbouring state. The arrested are Prakriddin, Murugesh of Sakleshpur and Riju and Ahmed of Sankalapura. Forest officials also found the decomposed body of a male wild elephant in the forest. The tusks were missing. Officials have been instructed to conduct an autopsy to find out whether the animal was electrocuted or was killed by poachers.
Elephants Raid Fields
Mysuru: A herd of 10 elephants raided fields and destroyed standing crops in and around Chamalapura near here on Sunday.
The farmers noticed the elephants in the wee hours of Sunday and alerted forest officials. The forest officials who arrived late, managed to chase the jumbos away from the fields.They said sugarcane, paddy and other crops have been destroyed.