Hassan
A probe by Bengaluru Police into an alleged attempt to sell tusks has led to unearthing the death of an elephant by electrocution at Veerapura in Salagame Hobli in Hassan taluk of Karnataka.
Chennamanakere Achukattu police in Bengaluru had arrested three persons on March 18 while they were looking for buyers for tusks. The arrested persons are Chandre Gowda, 46, of Veerapura; Somalingappa, 41, of Bankapura in Shiggaon taluk of Haveri district; and Praveen Guled, 24, of Basavanal in Shiggaon. The police seized a pair of tusks weighing 29 kg from the trio.
Carcass found:
For further investigation, the police went to Veerapura village on March 20. With the assistance of Forest Department officials, they exhumed the carcass of the animal. Samples of the skull were collected for further examination in the presence of veterinarians and experts.
The officers suspect that the animal would have died due to electrocution about six months ago. Chandre Gowda, with the help of others, is believed to have dug a trench in his farm using an earthmover and buried the body of the animal. The police are looking for the owner of the earthmover, who is absconding.
“The samples have been collected to ascertain if the tusks seized from the accused were from the animal. A team of experts of Veterinary College in Hassan and Indian Institute of Science were present while collecting the samples,” said Ravindra Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Vigilance) in Hassan.
A few months ago, residents of the village had spotted three elephants roaming around the place. Later, the number came down to two. The people thought one tusker had moved to a different place.
“As per the preliminary examination, the elephant was about 25 years old when it was electrocuted. The value of the tusks cannot be estimated as its trade is not legal. All that we can say is tusks are precious,” an officer said.
The Forest Department is contemplating registering one more case against the accused for laying electric fencing that caused the death of the animal. Sources claimed that many wild boars had died of electrocution in his farm.
