Forest guard suspended for Keonjhar elephant deaths

Keonjhar: Keonjhar’s divisional forest officer Santosh Joshi has suspended a woman forest guard of the Ghatagaon forest range on Saturday in connection with the death of three elephants who were hit by a truck, and then by a bus near Balijodi early on Thursday night.
The forest guard has been identified as Pranayani Amanta (Melan beat). The DFO has also issued showcause notices to the forest ranger, Ashok Kumar Nayak, and a forester, Sashi Bhusan Barik, of the same range.
“The forest guard has been suspended for negligence of duty. After getting replies from the other two, appropriate action will be taken,” Joshi said.
On the night of August 22, three elephants — two females approximately 10 years old and a year-old female calf — died after being hit by a truck, and then a bus, on NH-20 near Balijodi, under the Ghatagaon forest range of Keonjhar district.
Earlier, the forest department arrested both the drivers of the truck and the bus, which killed the elephants.
According to the forest department, officials have kept watch on the movement of the elephants in Keonjhar, especially near the national highway and the railway line crossing. Several squads have been deployed in different areas to drive away elephants and protect villagers. They make villagers aware of the dos and don’ts when near an elephant herd. The squads try to drive away elephants from human habitations into the forests with the help of locals.