Overview
- Patrol teams found the two-year-old female dead on January 10 in the Boothikadu range of the Guthiyalathur forest with severe injuries to the trunk and mouth.
- A veterinary autopsy under the Elephant Death Audit Framework confirmed death from a country-made explosive bait, with organ samples collected for laboratory analysis.
- Investigators arrested farmer K. Kalimuthur, 43, registered a wildlife offense case, and formed a special team to trace another suspect who is absconding.
- Kadambur police were alerted due to the use of an explosive substance, and the carcass was buried at the site.
- Forest officials link the incident to recurring crude-bomb use around fields in the region, noting an earlier 2024 case in which an elephant died after ingesting an explosive hidden in food.