Jorabat, May 13: A male wild elephant was allegedly gunned down by poachers inside the remote Dikchak hills under the Topatoli Beat area of the Sonapur Forest Range, in a chilling incident that has again exposed the fragile state of wildlife protection along the Assam–Meghalaya forest belt.
According to local residents, gunshots were heard from the hills during the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, following which a herd of elephants was seen running frantically through the forested area, raising immediate suspicion among villagers.
The matter was subsequently reported to forest officials.
Sources said a search operation was launched by the Forest department, assisted by local residents. However, after hours of combing the dense forest, the carcass of the elephant was finally recovered later in the day.
The male elephant reportedly bore two bullet injuries on its head, strongly indicating a targeted poaching attack.
In a gruesome act of brutality, the poachers are suspected to have chopped off the elephant’s trunk before fleeing the area.
Local residents suspect that the poachers may have entered through forest routes connected to the Meghalaya side, an allegation that once again raises serious concerns over the lack of surveillance and coordinated anti-poaching operations in the vulnerable interstate forest area.
The incident has triggered outrage among residents and wildlife observers, many of whom questioned how armed poachers could enter deep forest areas, kill a wild elephant, mutilate the carcass, and escape without detection.
Forest officials have initiated an investigation into the incident. However, no arrests had been reported till the filing of this report.
