Female elephant dies coming in contact with live wire, 7 suspected poachers held in Chhattisgarh

Seven suspected poachers were arrested on Sunday for allegedly killing an elephant in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh by laying a live wire in its way, forest officials said.

The arrests were made a day after the carcass of a female elephant was found on the outskirts of Kishanpur village under Pithora forest range.

The pachyderm died after it came in contact with a live iron wire laid by poachers to trap wild boar, the official said.

"With the help of sniffer dogs from Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, forest personnel raided some houses in Kishanpur and nearby Rampur villages and arrested seven persons on charges of killing the elephant", said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Mahasamund Division, Mayank Pandey.

Two accused are on the run, he said.

A bundle of iron wires and materials used in poaching were recovered from them, he said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that they had recently killed a sloth bear in a similar manner.

Later,remains of the bear, hidden by the accused, were also recovered from the area, he said.

The accused were booked under provisions of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 and India Forest Act 1927, Pandey said.