CHENNAI: A 12-year-old male elephant was electrocuted at a sugarcane farm in Anthiyur, Erode.

According to a Daily Thanthi report, forest officials have arrested an 80-year-old farm owner, Chinnasamy, who had illegally erected an electric fence that killed the elephant.

The elephant, which had wandered out of the nearby forest, attempted to enter the sugarcane farm in search of food and died when it came in contact with an electric fence, said a forest official. However, the investigations revealed that Chinnasamy had illegally erected the electric fence to protect his crop from wild animals. He had drawn electricity from his borewell and connected it to the fence without obtaining a permit.

On receiving information, a team of forest officers rushed to the scene and found that the elephant had died due to electrocution. Using a crane, they moved the carcass and buried it in a pit in the jungle.

Later, the farmer was booked under the Wildlife Protection Act for illegally erecting the electric fence.