COIMBATORE: Two staff of the forest department were placed under suspension on Friday for failing to prevent poachers from killing a wild tusker in Dharmapuri. District Forest Officer K Rajangam placed forester Sakthivel and forest guard Damodaran under suspension in connection with the issue.

On 1 March, the front line staff during a routine perambulation spotted the tusker dead at Bathanavaady Reserve Forest in Emanur Reserve Forest. An autopsy by the veterinarian revealed that the elephant was gunned down and its tusks removed before being set on fire to eliminate its traces.

The carcass was in a half-burnt state. A case was registered under the Wildlife Protection Act and three special teams have been formed to nab the culprits.

The special teams have been camping across various places, based on some vital clues to trace the poachers.

In July 2022, a makhna elephant was shot dead by four villagers in the same Pennagaram forest range in Dharmapuri.

The four men, however, claimed that they shot dead the elephant only in self-defence when they intruded into the forest area to poach wild animals for meat.