A male elephant died of electrocution in Balodabazar district of Chhattisgarh after stepping on a live wire laid by poachers, one of whom has been arrested, an official said on Tuesday.
The carcass of the animal, aged around 26 years, was found near Pakrid village in the Devpur Forest Range on Monday, Balodabazar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Mayank Agrawal said.
A post-mortem revealed that the elephant had been electrocuted, he said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that the poachers laid the electric wire to kill wild animals and the elephant stepped on it, he said.
A man from Pakrid village was arrested, Efforts are on to trace others involved in the offence.