A man, who was charged by forest officials with killing an elephant calf in 2016 and was absconding since then, was arrested on Friday.
The man was identified as R. Rajendran aka Senga (41). He was apprehended by a team of forest officers led by S. Suresh, Forest Range Officer, Coimbatore range, during their daily rounds in Veerapandi. Mr. Suresh told The Hindu that he received information regarding Rajendran’s whereabouts on Thursday, based on which the arrest was carried out.
The incident happened in July 2016 when an elephant calf died after biting into a country bomb (avuttukkai in Tamil).
A case was filed at the Coimbatore Forest Range and two persons were arrested by a special team in the same year, Mr. Suresh said.
Though the team nabbed Rajendran within a month after the incident, he managed to escape and continued to abscond until now, he added.
The accused was produced in front of Judicial Magistrate – I and remanded. “Strict action will be taken against those found to be possessing country bombs,” Mr. Suresh said.