Jamshedpur: A 30-year-old male elephant was electrocuted at Saparoom village under Chandil forest range of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, officials said on Wednesday.Villagers found the carcass of the elephant in a paddy field in the early hours of Wednesday, following which forest officials were informed. Forest officials reached the spot and found a broken overhead power transmission cable coiled around the trunk of the elephant, and an uprooted electric pole lying close to the tusker.DFO of Seraikela-Kharsawan, Saba Alam, said that prima facie the death was caused by electrocution, but the postmortem report and viscera findings will help to determine the exact cause.Villagers told the foresters that the power cable was hanging low for the past few days as one of the poles got uprooted in a thunderstorm. The elephant probably came in contact with the cable and was electrocuted.“Our veterinary team has conducted the postmortem examination. We have preserved the vital organs for viscera examination at FSLs in Ranchi and Bareilly to determine the cause of death,” the DFO said.A quick response team (QRT) was reportedly engaged in driving away an elephant herd to Purulia in West Bengal on Tuesday evening close the spot.In the past 11 months, three elephants have died under suspicious condition in the Chandil range.
