Bullet fired to stop jumbo fight hit Arjuna in the leg: Mahout

Hassan: Forest department officials have refuted claims of wildlife enthusiasts and local residents that Dasara jumbo Arjuna sustained bullet injuries during a wild tusker rescue operation on Monday. 

They have also promised to conduct an investigation into Arjuna’s death.   

However, the statement of Arjuna’s mahout Vinu, that the elephant suffered bullet injuries on his leg has raised suspicions on the rescue operation. Vinu told reporters that there was an intense fight between Arjuna and the wild tusker during the operation. The fight was so intense that it became difficult to even identify Arjuna for the forest personnel.

They fired a bullet to stop the fight and it hit Arjuna’s leg. Not just that, Arjuna injured his nail as leftover wood of a severed tree pierced it. Arjuna collapsed while fighting. The wild jumbo gored him to death, he explained.

The rescue operation started on Monday afternoon (December 4). There was a herd of 16 wild jumbos. One of the elephants was in ‘musth’. Elephants Arjuna and Prashant chased the herd.

At this juncture, the shot fired from the tranquiliser gun by forest personnel, aimed at the wild elephant, hit jumbo Prashant, who fell on the ground.

The mahouts and veterinarians rushed to Prashant’s help, gave him an antidote dose, poured water on him and woke him up. But Arjuna continued to fight the jumbo. When the battle became fierce, the mahout on Arjuna’s back got down even as the fight continued. 

Protesters have demanded that the forest officers should answer if they lacked expertise in capturing the wild jumbo.

“Did the officials fail to dart the wild jumbo during the battle? Did Arjuna really suffer bullet injuries? Why was the post mortem conducted in a hurry and the carcass buried?,” they want to know.

There is widespread criticism of the forest department over the whole incident. 

Chief Conservator of Forests Ravishankar said the veterinarians conducted the post mortem as per norms. If there was any bullet injury on any of Arjuna’s legs, it would have been observed during the autopsy, he said.