GUWAHATI: A female elephant was found dead on the morning of Tuesday, July 7, in a paddy field near Duwarmara Balijan village, close to the Duwarmara Reserve Forest, under the Doomdooma Forest Division in Tinsukia district.
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Wildlife activist Devajit Moran, in a Facebook Live, alleged that the elephant may have died after coming into contact with electric wires allegedly laid around the paddy field by its owner, identified as Lehuk Patar. Moran said a local child had told him that the elephant was electrocuted and claimed to be a witness to the incident.Moran called for a thorough and transparent probe by the forest department, adding that anyone found responsible for using illegal electric fencing should face strict action to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
Doomdooma divisional forest officer Puspadhar Borgohain confirmed that a team of veterinary experts and forest personnel had been sent to the site for a post-mortem examination and evidence collection.Borgohain said the priority is securing the site and gathering evidence, with the exact cause of death to be confirmed only after the post-mortem and probe findings are in.
Speaking to GPlus, a forest department official and a local police officer separately confirmed the death of the elephant, though the current status of the investigation has not been made public. Forest officials said further details would be shared once the post-mortem report and probe findings are available.
The Duwarmara Reserve Forest falls within the Dihing Patkai Elephant Reserve corridor, an area that has repeatedly witnessed cases of human-elephant conflict in recent months, with shrinking forest cover pushing elephants into farmland and human settlements in search of food. No official confirmation of electrocution has been made as of the time of this report, and authorities have maintained that the cause of death will only be established after forensic and veterinary findings are reviewed.