Death of wild elephants: One farmer arrested and another absconding

The Belagavi police arrested a farmer on charges of causing the death of wild elephants at Nagaragali range in Khanapur taluk. Another farmer booked under the same provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act is absconding.

Officers arrested Ganapathi Sateri, in the border of whose fields the elephants were found dead in Sulegali village. Shivaji Gurav, another farmer, is absconding.

The action follows Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s statement that the government had taken the death of the wild elephants very seriously. The elephants were electrocuted on Sunday.

Forest officials buried the two elephants after post-mortem on Monday.

A team of the Hescom vigilance wing visited the spot and began investigation. They told Forest officials that the farmers had installed a solar electric fence to keep the animals out. They also found that the farmers had hooked the solar fence to a Hescom power line nearby, which was against rules.

Some local farmers have argued that Hescom officers had failed to repair two wires that got cut from the main line and these wires had caused the death of the elephants. But Forest officials suspect that the farmers had deliberately thrown the wires on the ground to trap the elephants and kill them.

Mr. Khandre has also asked senior officials to check if there was negligence on the part of the jurisdictional forest officials in the incident. “We have received a complaint that forest officials had not conducted due diligence and had failed to organise a meeting of the stakeholders, including farmers, Revenue and Hescom officials. This angle will be probed,” a senior officer in the Belagavi Forest Circle, said.

The burial was conducted in the presence of CCF Manjunatha Chavan, DCF N.E. Kranti, ACFs Shivananda Magadum, Nagaraj Balehosur, Sunita Nimbargi, panchayat and revenue officials, police and some villagers.