Third Elephant Dies of Electrocution Near Jharkhand Border; Outrage Over Forest Dept Failures

Seraikela: An adult male elephant died after coming into contact with an illegal live electric wire near Salboni Vikas Bharati, under the Lodhasuli Forest Range in West Bengal, right along the Jharkhand border. The tragedy has triggered furious protests from local villagers and wildlife activists, marking the third electrocution death along this vital migration corridor within the last year.

Cropland Protection Turns into Deadly Trap

Local sources reported that a wild herd entered the Salboni area late Monday night in search of food. While moving through the terrain, one of the elephants brushed against high-voltage live fencing. Farmers had illegally strung the wire around an agricultural field near the Vikas Bharati campus to keep wild animals away from their crops.

Villagers discovered the massive carcass early Tuesday morning and immediately alerted authorities. A team from the Lodhasuli Forest Range rushed to the site to recover the body and launch an inquiry.

Activists Slam Administrative Negligence

Forest Department officials confirmed that prima facie evidence points directly to electrocution, though they await final post-mortem results for absolute confirmation. While authorities registered a case against unidentified persons under the Wildlife Protection Act, locals and conservationists blame systemic administrative failure.

“The authorities failed to implement safety measures along the Jharkhand-West Bengal border despite knowing this is an active, heavy-traffic zone near the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary,” a local resident stated.

The recurring deaths highlight two critical vulnerabilities in the corridor:

• Unchecked Illegal Fencing: Farmers systematically resort to illegal fencing with power lines to protect crops without facing law enforcement.
• Poor Forest Patrols: A lack of proactive patrolling allows these deadly traps to remain active in known elephant routes.

Wildlife groups are now demanding criminal prosecution for anyone installing illegal lines, immediate safety audits of rural grids, and aggressive community awareness campaigns to prevent escalating human-elephant conflicts.