Elephant electrocuted in C'garh

An elephant was electrocuted after it accidentally came in contact with a live wire at a farm in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, forest officials said on Wednesday.

The carcass of the 15-year-old male pachyderm was found Wednesday in the field located in Purunga village in Chhal forest range, Dharamjaigarh Divisional Forest Official Pranay Mishra said.

As per the preliminary information, a farmer Sanjay Rathiya had allegedly laid a live wire around his field to protect his crop in view of the movement of elephants in the area, he said.

The elephant apparently came in contact with the wire and was electrocuted. But the post-mortem report, which is awaited, will reveal the exact cause of the death, he added.

A case has been registered against Rathiya and efforts were on to trace him as he absconded from the village after the incident, police added.