Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has ordered an inquiry into the death of wild elephants in Belagavi district. Two wild elephants were found electrocuted in Nagargali forests of Khanapur taluk on Sunday.
The note issued by the minister directed Prabash Chandra Ray, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Chief Conservator of Nature and Wildlife) to conduct an inquiry and get a report within five days.
Forest department sources said that Manjunath R. Chavan, Principal Conservator of Forests, is likely to conduct an inquiry. However, no letter came from the headquarters until Monday evening. Mr. Chavan said that after receiving the order, a detailed inquiry would be conducted as per the rules.
Basic protocol violated?
However, ministry sources said a team of officials visited the Nagaragali jungle on Monday and had already gathered some information.
“There is preliminary information that some basic protocols such as following standard procedure for wildlife sighting were not followed. The standard operating procedure for wildlife sighting is that HESCOM officers should be asked to switch off the main power supply in areas where wild animals have been spotted to avoid casualties. Forest officials and HESCOM officers who visited the scene of death found that some farmers using solar power systems for their farms had some rules against hook, which is more against HESCOM, and threw the other ends of the wire to the ground. We have to find out if it was intentional,” the senior officer said.
Senior officers also noted that the jurisdictional officers were not in the Nagargali area, their operational headquarters, at the time of the incident and reached Khanapur only after news of the unfortunate incident emerged. A departmental inquiry will be conducted to find out whether there was any dereliction of duty, another officer said.
Owner reserved
Meanwhile, the Khanapur police have registered a case against the owner of the agricultural land where the elephants’ bodies were found. An FIR has been registered against the landowner Ganapathi Sateri of Sulegali village.
The bodies were sent for autopsy. They will be buried after an autopsy, police said.
“Resorts in forest areas among reasons why wild animals come out of forests”
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah cited resorts and safaris in the forest areas of Karnataka as one of the reasons why wild animals are coming out of the forests.
Responding to questions from reporters in Mysuru on November 3 about the frequent tiger attacks in the region over the past few days, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the movement of people in forest areas has increased due to the rise in the number of resorts and jungle safaris.
In addition, according to him, wild animals are facing a shortage of water and feed. A large number of elephants, tigers, leopards, wild pigs and deer come out of the forests.
Published – 03 Nov 2025 19:38 IST
