CHENNAI: Finding contradictions in the details given in the two reports filed following the poaching of an elephant in Dharmapuri, a special bench of the Madras High Court said it suspected foul play during the investigation and raised questions about the discrepancies between the two reports.
The first report prepared immediately after field investigation stated that the elephant aged between 12 and 13 years was shot dead. However, the second report filed a week later said there was no bullet wound, but the elephant’s carcass was burnt to erase evidence, including sex identification marks, to conceal that it was hunted for its tusks.
This caught the attention of the special bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy. The judges said they suspected foul play asked the Forest Department regarding the contradictions between the two reports, and asked what the real cause of death was.
Appearing virtually, the District Forest Officer, Dharmapuri, submitted that the first report was prepared based on the information given by the range officer and denied any misconduct in the investigation.
He added that three separate teams were formed to track down the culprits, and four accused have been arrested so far. Out of the four, one possessed explosives and country made weapons and is now in judicial custody, the official said.
Not satisfied with the submission, the bench directed him to file a detailed report regarding the investigation and posted the matter to March 28 for further proceedings.
On March 1, a forest guard found an elephant carcass along the Tamil Nadu – Karnataka border near the Cauvery river in Dharmapuri. Based on the information given by the guard, the anti-poaching unit rushed to the spot and did a preliminary investigation. It revealed that the tusks of the elephant were removed. Later, the reports on the initial and subsequent investigations were filed before the Pennagaram judicial magistrate.