2 held for erecting electric fence days after elephant's death in TN

ERODE: Two middle-aged men have been arrested for placing electric fences on their land which led to the death of an elephant inside Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) here, forest officials said.

The Kadambur forest officials on Sunday evening arrested Kondan (53) and Mohan (57) from Chinna Kundry forest area within STR for the electrocution of the male elephant a couple of days back.

According to forest officials, the pachyderm was found dead in Chinna Kundry forest area near a private land on Friday. The forest officials led by Forest Ranger Ravindran rushed to the spot and an autopsy was conducted with the help of a veterinarian.

Based on the post-mortem report, the forest officials learnt that the elephant was electrocuted to death when it touched the electric fence erected illegally by Kondan and Mohan, the two owners of the private land. For two days, the forest officials conducted enquiries with them.

The men admitted that they put up the charged fence by connecting it to a power line to scare away wild animals, especially elephants, and also to save their standing maize crop. The officials said when the elephant went there, it grazed the fence and got electrocuted. It appears that the jumbo came in search of food.

The forest officials are conducting further interrogation with the arrested men.