No 'conspiracy' behind Bandhavgarh elephant deaths: Official

A high-level team sent by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) following the death of 10 elephants has not come across any “conspiracy theory”, one of its members said.

The team comprising MP Minister of State for Forest Pradeep Ahirwar, Additional Chief Secretary Ashok Baranwal and head of Forest Force Aseem Shrivastava on Saturday visited the site inside the reserve where the jumbos died.

Four wild elephants were found dead at Sankhani and Bakeli under the BTR’s Khitoli range on October 29. Four more pachyderms died on October 30 and two the next day.

According to wildlife expert Ajay Dubey, never before have 10 elephants died within a 72-hour period in the country.

The autopsy of the carcasses has pointed to toxicity along with huge quantities of kodo millets in their stomachs, as per officials.

The Union Environment Ministry has said that the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) has set up a team to investigate the elephant deaths.

The Madhya Pradesh government has also formed a committee to look into the incident.

An official on Saturday said the CM rushed Ahirwar and the two top bureaucrats to the reserve and asked them to submit a report on the elephant deaths which have made national headlines.

The CM was dissatisfied with the preliminary report of the forest department that the pachyderms died after consuming a lot of kodo millets, an official, who attended an urgent meeting convened by Yadav on Friday night, told PTI.

Quoting the CM at the meeting, the official said Yadav said he had never heard of elephants dying after eating kodo millets.

“The CM was unhappy over the failure to scientifically ascertain the cause of deaths even after three days,” he said.

Speaking to PTI over phone from the BTR in Umaria district, Shrivastava said, “No conspiracy theory has come to light so far.” Asked about their findings during the visit, he said, “We have been asked to prepare a report. We are discussing it. The report will come out once it is finalised,” he said.

Minister Ahirwar told PTI, “We are here. I am here till Sunday evening. The inquiry touching all aspects is on. The report will be out in three to four days and everything will be clear.” Meanwhile, two persons were killed and one injured near the BTR on Saturday by three elephants believed to be part of the herd that lost 10 jumbos earlier.

Shrivastava on Saturday said the elephants have not been captured.