The Assam forest department ordered an inquiry after media persons were allegedly barred from covering an incident near the Rani picnic spot on the outskirts of Guwahati on Sunday. Following the recovery of a decaying elephant carcass at a secluded spot at Hatimaraghuli, reporters had rushed to the scene only to be obstructed by forest officials at the scene with force, prompting speculations.
After a decaying elephant carcass with its large parts of its body and tusks missing was reported, media persons from various organizations reached Hatimaraghuli under Rani Forest Office to cover it. However, a team of forest officials led by ranger Roji Barman were present to prevent them from getting anywhere close to the carcass.
They reportedly stood with sticks in hand to keep media persons away. This sparked speculations of the forest department trying to cover up their incompetence. Allegedly, the forest officials tried to keep the media from finding out about the felling of numerous valuable trees around the site where the elephant carcass was found. Furthermore, some reports also claimed that that Barman was in collusion with poachers as she tried to keep reporters from covering the suspected poaching of the elephant.
Notably, elephant poaching in and around the region has been reported previously with Khasi poachers from Meghalaya involved in killing and cutting away chunks of elephant parts including trunks and tusks. The incident that surfaced today is thought to have occurred about 10 days ago, going by the condition in which the carcass was found.
However, following extensive reporting by Pratidin Time on the matter, the East Kamrup forest division DFO ordered an inquiry into the elephant's death as well as the incident involving misbehaving with and barring journalists from reporting on the matter. The investigation will be led by Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Manoranjan Barman.
Meanwhile, ranger Roji Barman's erratic behaviour has been called into question with probe reports awaited to understand the case.