Latehar- A wild elephant was electrocuted to death in Jharkhand’s Latehar district after it came into contact with a live electric fence allegedly installed by a villager to protect his home and crops from elephants, officials said on Monday.
The incident took place on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday in Kusi Tola of Komar village under Jhabar Panchayat in the Balumath police station area.
According to local reports, a herd of around 15 elephants had entered the area and was moving towards nearby maize fields when one of the animals came into contact with an electrified wire. The elephant died on the spot.
Residents said the herd had been moving through the area for several days, with elephants reportedly damaging crops and houses. With the animals repeatedly entering agricultural fields, villagers have been attempting to protect their livelihoods using various methods.
A villager identified as Bifa Oraon had reportedly surrounded his house with exposed electric wires carrying current. When the elephants approached the fields during the night, one of them apparently touched the live wire in the darkness and was fatally electrocuted.
The incident caused panic in the area as the rest of the herd became agitated and began trumpeting loudly. Forest officials are also examining whether other elephants may have come into contact with the electrified fence and suffered injuries.
After being alerted, teams from the Forest Department and Balumath Police reached the location. The elephant’s carcass has been taken into custody, while postmortem procedures are being carried out to establish the exact cause and circumstances of the death.
Forest Ranger Nand Kumar Mehta said an investigation has been launched to determine how electricity was supplied to the fence and who was responsible for setting it up. He said legal action would follow based on the findings of the investigation.
Forest officials have appealed to villagers not to use live electric wires or other dangerous methods to keep elephants away from homes and farmland. Such measures can not only kill or seriously injure wildlife but can also pose a grave risk to people and livestock.
The incident once again highlights the difficult nature of human-elephant conflict in Latehar, where elephants frequently move through forest and agricultural areas in search of food and water. Crop damage and property loss can create serious difficulties for villagers, while attempts to drive elephants away can sometimes result in fatal encounters.
The Balumath region has witnessed other elephant deaths in recent years. In October 2025, the carcass of a young elephant was found in a paddy field in the area. Earlier, in July 2022, another elephant was found dead in a forest in Ranchi, with its tusks missing.
The latest death has renewed concerns over the need for safer and more effective measures to prevent encounters between elephants and local communities.
–IANS