Sambalpur/Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch of Odisha police on Friday started investigation into the killing of three wild elephants for tusks in Bamra wild life division and Sambalpur forest range in the district.
The move followed after the CB received a direction from the Odisha Forest and Environment department in this regard.
A seven-member investigating team led by SP Rabindra Mohanty visited all the spots where carcasses of the pachyderms were found in separate incidents in January. Since the tusks were extracted from the bodies, the incident prompted the forest officials to suspect hands of ivory mafia behind the crime.
The team will investigate the poaching case from various angles to unearth whether poachers from outside are involved in the activity. The team will also focus on the tactics of killing jumbos applied by the poachers.
According to sources, the CB was entrusted with the task of investigation after three back-to-back elephant deaths were reported from the western Odisha district in the recent past. The incidents brought to the fore the increasing activities of poachers in the area and involvement of ivory mafia.