Bhubaneswar: The Forest Department has taken action in the case of an elephant being electrocuted and buried at a farm in Hindola.
Hindola Forester Diptiranjan Acharya has been suspended in connection with the incident. Angul RCCF has also issued a show cause notice to Hindola Ranger Trilochan Dehuri. Acharya has been asked to not to leave Dhenkanal DFO office without approval.
Meanwhile, the bail plea of farm owner Pramod Raj was rejected. The Forest Department has sent him to Hindola Jail. JCB driver Sudhir Bhutia and farm ranger Rajiv Chaudhary have also been sent to jail.
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Four people have been arrested in total. The department has sealed the farm house. The JCB machine used to bury the elephant was seized from the Narasinghpur area. Two bikes have also been seized by the Hindola Forest Department. Officials said more people may be involved in the incident.
According to the Forest Department, Pramod Raj had connected electricity around the farm after an elephant entered and damaged crops. The elephant died due to electrocution. After that, the farm owner dug a pit and buried the elephant inside the farm.
Acting on intelligence inputs, the Forest Department excavated the site and recovered the elephant’s body.