The State Crime Branch on Saturday arrested three persons, including two officials of the Meramundali Forest Range, in connection with the tragic death of seven elephants due to electrocution at Kamalanga in Dhenkanal district on October 27.
The arrestees included Cesu Junior Engineer Sanjay Mohanty, Meramundali Section Forester Prabhakar Rana and Forest Guard Girish Dehury, informed Crime Branch Additional Director General Santosh Upadhyay, adding that further investigation into the incident was still on.
Several lapses on the parts of the Forest and Energy Departments had come to the fore following the death of the seven elephants in Dhenkanal. In the wake of a furore across the State, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had ordered a Crime Branch probe into the incident.
A four-member team led by a DSP had visited the spot on October 29 to conduct the inquiry.
Earlier, the Forest and Environment and the Energy Departments had dismissed one official and suspended six others for dereliction of duties. While three officials from the Forest Department and the Cesu were suspended, the Junior Manager of CESU Meramundali Section was dismissed following the incident.
Three officials of the Forest and Environment Departments including Dhenkanal Range Officer Prasanna Kumar Biswal, Forester of Meramundali Section Prabhakar Rana and Forest Guard of Meramundali section Girish Chandra Dehury were suspended.
Similarly, the Energy Department had sacked an officer and suspended three others in connection with the incident.