GOLAGHAT: A team of forest personnel on Monday discovered the bullet-riddled body of a Makhna elephant at Terang village near the Bijulee forest area on the border between Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts. The Makhna elephant had earlier been sighted on June 6 and June7 in ill health and forest officials at Golaghat had been duly informed. A forest department team led by Golaghat forest divisional officer Sushil Thakuria then reached the elephant andit was treated by doctors at the rehabilitation centre of Kaziranga National Park. Thereafter, the elephant entered an inhabited area and had to be chased away to a safe spot in Bijulee forest.
However, on June 9, a team of foresters and doctors led by Golaghat forest officer Rajiv Kakati found the elephant inside the forest but it was already dead. Post-mortem tests have now revealed gunshot wounds on the elephant’s body. A case has been registered at Bagijan police station, and a forest department investigation into the entire incident is underway in Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts. It is believed the elephant hadcome from the Karbi Anglong side before it fell prey to armed miscreants near the forest along the border.
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