Elephant found dead

TT, Alipurduar, Oct. 12: A female elephant was found dead outside a paddy field near Reti forest in Dhupguri last night and forest department suspects that the animal was electrocuted.

There was an electric wire on the body of the elephant and foresters said the paddy field had been energised illegally by the owner to stave off animals.

The carcass was found just 100 metres from the Kalapani beat office of Banarhat range under Jalpaiguri forest division. The foresters said they suspected that the elephant was pregnant and the cause of the death would be known after post-mortem.

Forest minister Binoy Krishna Barman said he had ordered a probe to know how a paddy field had been energised close to a beat office. "I also asked forest officers to take strong action against the owner of the paddy field."

TNN, Jalpaiguri: An adult female elephant was electrocuted at Birpara in Alipurduar district on Wednesday morning. The jumbo was pregnant. 

The elephant had strayed into a paddy field near Khas Basti in Birpara by the Indo-Bhutan border. The owner of the field allegedly hooked power from a high tension line and laid the open wire on the field to stop jumbos. The elephant died on the spot when it came in contact with the wire. 

The residents of Khas Basti found the pachyderm and informed the forest department. "The marks on the body indicate electrocution. 

However, it can only be ascertained after autopsy," a forest official said. "If the reports confirm electrocution, we will take legal steps against the land owner," he said.