Assam police have arrested one person for building an “illegal fence with live electricity connection” that led to the death of a baby elephant near Kaziranga National Park.
According to the forest officials, a seven-year-old female baby elephant died of electrocution after she came in contact with the electrical fence.
The incident took place at Borjuri Basti village near Kaziranga National Park on Saturday night, and the body of the baby elephant was recovered on Sunday morning, officials added.
Kaziranga director Jatindra Sarma told HT that some villagers created fences with live electric connections to protect themselves from elephants and other wild animals.
“This is illegal and we are investigating if there are such fencings in other areas. One person has been arrested for causing the death of a wild elephant under the Elephants’ Preservation Act,” he said.
Forest officials said that after recovering the carcass of the baby elephant, they investigated the incident. Speaking to the locals, they informed that a body of an elephant calf was discovered in the backyard of one Chunku Munda (45) house, said officials. Following this, the officials got a complaint registered against Munda, a local resident and based on the complaint, the police arrested him on Sunday.
Kaziranga ranger Bibhuti Ranjan Gogoi said, “Our team investigated and discovered burn marks on the calf’s leg and trunk. Munda’s family members claimed that the elephant died naturally but he later admitted that he installed electrical fencing on his property to keep wild elephants away and the calf touched that,”
The forest department officials have seized a large number of electric wires from Chunku Munda’s possession and it is believed that he was helping other villagers in creating such fencings with electricity connection.
Due to the flood situation, animals are moving out from the Kaziranga National Park and were seen near highways and villages. Advisories were issued for vehicles to control speed limits while driving on the roads near the National Park.
Officials said that CCTV cameras are keeping vigil in these areas. “Strict actions will be taken against those who break the rules,” officials said.
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