Jharkhand: Elephant injured in IED blast dies in Saranda

Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Oct 12 (PTI): A 10-year-old female elephant, which sustained grievous injuries in an IED blast allegedly triggered by Maoists in Jharkhand’s Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary last week, died on Sunday morning, forest officials said.

The elephant had suffered severe injuries in her right leg after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED) planted in Ankua forest reserve under Manoharpur police station limits in West Singhbhum district, Saranda Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Aviroop Sinha told PTI.

Sinha said the department had received information about the injured elephant last Monday and began treatment.

"Teams of veterinarians from Saranda Wildlife Sanctuary, Chaibasa, and Odisha’s Rourkela and Keonjhar forest divisions were deployed. A mobile veterinary unit was stationed at the site, and an expert team from Vantara (Gujarat) also joined the rescue and treatment efforts," Sinha said.

"According on the post-mortem examination report, the elephant died of systemic septicemia leading to multi organ failure," the forest official added.

The incident has raised concerns about wildlife safety in the region, as the explosives planted by Naxalites are now posing a serious threat not only to security forces but also to wildlife.

"She was tranquillised and given antibiotics and painkillers. The team continued to care for her for several days, but due to the extensive injuries and infection, the elephant's life could not be saved," forest officials said. PTI ANB MNB