Twelve deer were found dead near a water body in Dhamtari district on Saturday, a forest official said. The man who killed the deer was arrested later
The incident happened at Mohlai village in Keregaon forest range and it is suspected that the animals died due to water poisoning, said Amitabh Vajpayee, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dhamtari division.
Locals alerted authorities about carcasses of 12 deer lying near a murum mine filled with water following which forest officials rushed to the spot. The autopsy is being conducted to find out the exact cause of death, the DFO added.
According to police and forest officials, the murum mine is being operated by a contractor of Mohlai village, located around 100 km away from the capital Raipur.
The mine was filled with water after recent rainfall in the area, they said.
The animals on Friday night must have consumed that water of the mine suspected to have been poisoned by some miscreants.
Later on, during investigation the accused Rikhi Ram Dhruv a resident of Mohlai was arrested. Urea, bones-horns of deer, animal trap along with other objectionable items were recovered from his possession.