Elephant dies of electrocution in Chhattisgarh

Raigarh: A wild elephant died of electrocution after he came in contact with a live wire at a farm in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, forest officials said on Tuesday.

A case has been registered against the farm owner following the incident on Monday night.

The male jumbo, aged 8 to 10 years, suffered an electric shock after coming in contact with the live wire laid by the farm owner to protect his maize crop, said Abhishek Jogawat, Divisional Forest Officer of Dharamjaigarh division.

Based on the preliminary investigation, a case was registered against the farmer, Nandram Rathiya, and he is being questioned.

In a separate incident, a male elephant, aged around 12 years, was found dead in Surajpur district. Authorities are investigating to ascertain the cause of his death.

Chhattisgarh has reported the death of 90 elephants in the last six years with the causes ranging from reasons like ailments and old age to electrocution, officials said.

Human-elephant conflicts in the northern parts of the state have been a major cause of concern for a decade, especially in Surguja, Jashpur, Raigarh, Korba, Surajpur, and Balrampur districts.