5 arrested with elephant tusks in Odisha

Five persons on Friday were arrested in Odisha's Badipada after two elephant tusks were seized. Officials believe the culprits might have killed the elephants in Similipal National Park.

Baripada: Five persons were arrested in Odisha's Badipada after two elephant tusks were seized, officials said on Friday.

The seizure was made on Thursday night, said officials of the Baripada Forest Division. It is suspected that the tusks belonged to a male elephant of about nine years old. They might have killed the elephant in Similipal National Park, said Baripada forest range officer Laxmidhar Behera.

Following a tip-off, forest officials intercepted anauto-rickshaw near Titia on Baripada-Udala Road, from which the tusks were recovered, he said.

A case has been registered against the accused under the Wild Life Protection Act, Behera added. (PTI report)