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Odisha officials charged with hiding elephant deaths, Centre seeks report
The environment ministry on Wednesday sought a report from the Odisha government on deaths of elephants , including those cause by poaching in the state. Some of these deaths were allegedly concealed by the state forest department.
The environment ministry on Wednesday sought a report from the Odisha government on deaths of elephants , including those cause by poaching in the state. Some of these deaths were allegedly concealed by the state forest department.
Environment minister Bhupendra Yadav tweeted that his ministry has sought a report from the Odisha government on elephant poaching incidents in the state. Later, the Project Elephant division of his ministry said strict action under the Wildlife Protection Act should be taken against those involved in the killings in a letter to state government.
“My ministry has taken cognisance of the incidents and the matter has been taken up with the state government for strict action against the poachers to ensure protection of our wildlife heritage,” Yadav tweeted.
He was responding to a tweet by union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on the death of a wounded elephant who was shot by poachers in Athagarh forest range a few weeks ago.
On Wednesday, the tusker who was shot by people believed to be poachers three weeks ago in Narasinghpur range of Athgarh forest division, succumbed to injuries. The 10-year-old tusker had gunshot injuries at five to six places on its body and was found writhing in pain near a rivulet in Narasinghpur east range of the forest division on June 7.
“The death of a wounded tusker… is distressing for all wildlife enthusiasts. This is not just a one-off incident in Odisha. According to media reports around 947 elephants have died due to poaching, poisoning, electrocution and accidents in the last 12 years in Odisha,” Pradhan tweeted.
The education minister, who hails from Odisha, was highlighting the bigger wildlife crisis in the state, where the bodies of at least 10 elephants were found buried in different forest ranges of the state since September last year.
On Wednesday, skeletal remains of an elephant were found inside Athagarh forest range in Odisha, the third this month, amid allegations that the forest department was concealing elephant deaths.
Odisha forest minister Pradip Amat and chief wildlife warden Shashi Paul did not respond to HT’s calls and messages on the matter.
Athagarh divisional forest officer Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav said investigations have begun to find out how the elephant died and why the staff responsible for keeping an eye on the elephants were clueless.
The incident came a day after an ailing tusker in the same forest division died after suffering multiple pellet wounds three weeks ago.
On June 2 and 3, the special task force (STF) of Odisha police found bones and exhumed carcasses of two other elephants from Athagarh forest range. The elephants had died due to electrocution and their bodies were buried to conceal their deaths, said regional chief conservator of forest M Jogajayananda.
Following the exhuming, the STF arrested six persons, including a forest guard and three elephant watchers and suspended two forest rangers. Two foresters accused of suppressing the facts with the forest department are absconding.
Last month, the department found that the local foresters tried to hide the graveyard of two elephants with a new-constructed road in the Boudh forest division.
“We spotted the carcass and informed the officials. Tusk of the elephant was also missing. We are sure it was hunted by poachers for ivory. But next morning the carcasses were not there and all that remained was a newly-constructed road inside the forest,” said a Boudh villager, who was not willing to be named.
The forest department has suspended three forest officials including a forester while it investigated the matter.
On February 8, the special task force of Odisha CID found the remains of a tusker in the Narasinghpur West forest range of Athagarh Forest Division whose carcass was burnt and tusks removed. During the investigation by the regional chief conservator of forests, the two tusks miraculously reappeared , raising questions whether the tusks actually belonged to the burnt and buried tusker.
In October last year, people of Jhankarpalli village under Sadar range of Sambalpur forest division reported the burning and burial of a poached tusker allegedly by subordinate staff of forest department in Munderchuan reserve forest. Senior forester department officials exhumed the skeletal remains and sent them for forensic tests, whose results are still awaited.
Wildlife activist and elephant conservationist Biswajit Mohanty said though it is difficult to conceal an elephant death, the Odisha forest department appears to have mastered the art.
“The finding of an elephant body whose death is unnatural would mean filing a case, investigating and trying to apprehend the culprits, a tedious work for an officer. The fear of being punished with suspension for dereliction of duties prompt lower level staff not to report an unnatural death as seniors of the division do not offer any support or instill confidence,” Mohanty said.
