Two adult female elephants were electrocuted in western Assam’s Baksa district, adjoining Bhutan, on August 20. Officials said that a farmer, who erected a live electric fence around a paddy field in the area, has surrendered to the police.
Assam wildlife officials said that the incident happened at Koroibari along the Batabari Forest Range where the two elephants came in contact with a live electric fence installed around a paddy field. The farmer, Hareswar Daimary, surrendered at the Singra police station and would be booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.
According to the officials, the elephants had come down from the hilly forests in search of food.
The incident comes a day after a villager was killed and another injured, on August 19 in a man-animal conflict in another village of Baksa district.
At least 13 elephants were killed this year in various parts of Assam by illegal electric fences put up by farmers to protect their crops. According to official records, over 90 elephants were electrocuted in Assam between 2011 and 2019. Poisoning and natural calamities also led to elephant deaths, including a whopping 18 jumbo killed by an alleged lightning strike in Nagaon district in May.
