Three persons, including a 17-year-old boy, who stole a pair of tusks from the carcass of a male elephant in Kadambur forest area in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), were arrested by the Forest Department in Erode district.
On July 21, during a patrol, forest personnel found the carcass without tusks at Ekalathur Pirivu and alerted senior officials. An autopsy was performed by the veterinarian and samples were lifted for laboratory tests. A case was registered by the department and the team later picked up three persons from Athiyur Pudur village on Sunday.
The key accused was the boy who found the carcass and alerted K. Sadayappan, 40, and P. Sengottaiyan, 40, of the same village. The boy poured acid over the carcass and cut the tusks with the help of the other two accused. Later, the three sold the tusks. However, they did not reveal to whom they had sold the tusks.
A team led by R. Indumathi, Kadambur Range Officer, is investigating the case to locate the buyer and recover the tusks. A case was registered for tresspassing into a forest area and stealing the tusks. The boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board in Erode and lodged at the Government Observation Home at Coimbatore. The other two were produced at a court in Gobichettipalayam and lodged at the District Prison at Gobichettipalayam.
