Forester Santosh Kumar Sethy and guard Rajendra Kumar Jena of Palaspanga forest section under Keonjhar division were suspended for negligence in duty.
The officials had hurriedly buried the body of an elephant that was shot dead in Nayagarh forest area without conducting post- mortem of the carcass.
After receiving information from local villagers regarding the death of a young elephant Tuesday last, the local forest officials apprehending action on them from the higher level had buried the body on the spot to suppress the incident. But when the incident was brought to the notice of the higher authorities by media, Divisional Forest Officer Rohit Kumar lenka ordered an inquiry into the elephant death following which the dead body was recovered from spot and reburied after conducting post mortem by an expert veterinary team.
“The erring field staff members were placed under suspension and further disciplinary action would be initiated after an inquiry report on the jumbo’s death comes,” said lenka.
Regular death of elephants in accidents and shoot-outs is a common in Keonjhar district every year in spite of strict laws for protection of these endangered animals.