Dhenkanal: After an elephant carcass was found buried at a farmhouse in Hindol area of Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, the forest department has initiated action by suspending an officer.
Sources said Hindol Forester Diptiranjan Acharya has been suspended in connection with the incident. Angul RCCF has also issued a show cause notice to Hindol Range Officer Trilochan Dehuri. Acharya has been asked to not to leave Dhenkanal DFO office without prior approval.
The incident came to light after the carcass of an elephant was exhumed from a private farmhouse in Kandarasuni area under Hindol block.
Meanwhile, the bail plea of farmhouse owner Pramod Kumar Raj was rejected and he was sent to jail. JCB driver Sudhir Bhutia and farm ranger Rajiv Chaudhary have also been sent to jail.
While four people have been arrested in connection with the incident, the forest department has sealed the farmhouse. The JCB machine used to bury the elephant was seized from Narasinghpur area. Two bikes have also been seized.
Officials said 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 a tip-off, a special team from the forest department alongside police rushed to the scene on Sunday identified a suspected spot within the premises where the animal was believed to have been buried following an inspection.
A JCB excavator was deployed on Monday to dig up the farmhouse grounds in the presence of local magistrate and a scientific team. As the excavation progressed, a strong, foul odour blanketing the area confirmed the presence of the decaying carcass.
