DHARMAPURI: Four villagers from Kodakarai village in Krishnagiri district were on Tuesday detained by forest officials in Dharmapuri district, over suspicion of their involvement in shooting a female elephant in Palacode on Friday. K Rajangam, Dharmapuri district forest officer (DFO), said forest personnel came across the elephant's carcass in the Palacode reserve forest, during an elephant census exercise. Forest veterinarians who performed an autopsy confirmed that the elephant had been shot dead.
During investigation officials learned that K Mallan, 30, from Kodakarai village, was involved in producing homemade firearms. "Our team arrested him on Monday, and seized the material used for making guns and ammunition," the DFO said. Mallan subsequently told foresters that 10 villagers were responsible for killing the elephant. Four of them were taken into custody for questioning on Tuesday. "Their exact motive behind shooting the elephant can only be determined after the inquiry," the DFO said.
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