Elephants’ Death By Arrow In Odisha: Forester Suspended; Show Cause Notice To 3 Others

Keonjhar: Four days after the death of a female elephant and a calf was confirmed to have occurred due to an arrow attack, a forester was suspended and three other forest officials were issued a show cause notice in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Saturday.

According to sources, forester Purnachandra Mahanta was suspended by divisional forest officer (DFO) Dhamdhere Dhanraj Hanumant.

A show cause notice was also issued to three forest officials including Telkoi Ranger Shivaji Mohan Rao in this connection.

It is pertinent to mention here that the carcasses of a 25-year-old female elephant and a calf were found inside the Kalapat reserve forest under Telkoi forest range on November 7.

On being informed by the team, Telkoi Ranger Shivaji Mohan Rao and Keonjhar DFO Dhamdhere Dhanraj Hanumant went to the spot.

Two days after, it was confirmed that they died from an arrow attack after a broken piece was recovered during the autopsy. The arrow had pierced through its stomach and hit the uterus. As a result, the female elephant delivered a dead calf as it had died in the womb.