Elephant deaths to be probed as crime scenes
Training held for vets and forest staff
Raigarh | Correspondent: The Chhattisgarh government has taken a major administrative decision to ensure elephant conservation and curb wildlife-related crimes in the state. Henceforth, the death of any elephant in the state's forests will not be treated as a routine incident; instead, the wildlife department will initiate an investigation by designating the entire area as a potential crime scene.
The primary objective of this new strategy is to prevent suspicious activities directed against wildlife and to ascertain the precise causes of death. Currently, approximately 450 elephants are active across various regions of the state, particularly in Raigarh, Jashpur, Surajpur, and Korba, leading to escalating challenges related to human-elephant conflict.
As part of this far-reaching initiative, an intensive two-day technical training session was organized in Raigarh. Conducted under the directives of Forest and Climate Change Minister Kedar Kashyap, the program was led by the Head of the Forest Force, Arun Kumar Pandey. Seventy-eight veterinary experts and forest officials from across the state participated in this special workshop.
During the event, national-level experts from the Wildlife Institute of India, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, and the Wildlife Institute of India's forensic division trained officials in modern forensic techniques, evidence collection, and the identification of suspicious cases, such as poisoning. Several senior officials, including Senior Forest Officer Priyanka Pandey, also participated in the training.
On the second day of the program, practical field exercises were conducted to ensure that officials could operate with full alertness and efficiency, even in remote or difficult terrains.
During these sessions, forest personnel gained hands-on experience in safely collecting blood and tissue samples from deceased wildlife, conducting toxicological examinations, and performing scientific post-mortem procedures. They were also instructed on the intricacies of safely transporting biological evidence from the scene to the laboratory without compromising its integrity.
Describing this move as highly significant, State Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap stated that the state government is fully committed to the safety and protection of wildlife. Better conservation of all wildlife, including elephants, is possible only through the integration of modern technologies and scientific research. He expressed confidence that such a scientific investigation system would greatly help in preventing unnatural deaths in the future and bring greater technical efficiency to the functioning of the Forest Department.
