Forest Department officials in Coimbatore have held four persons on the charge of hunting wild boar using country-made explosives near Periyanaickenpalayam. Officials have recovered the carcass of a hunted wild boar and six country-made explosives from the gang.
The arrested have been identified as Rangaraj, 32, Gurusamy, 45, Kumar, 35, and Muthukumar, 32, all hailing from Periyanaickenpalayam.
According to the officials, the incident took place at Bharathi Nagar, near Kovanur. The gang was arrested during a night patrol by the Forest Department in the locality on Wednesday after residents informed them that an elephant with injuries in its mouth was spotted in the forest fringes.
District Forest Officer S. Ramasubramanian said that one of the four men have been handed over to the police. He will be booked on the charge of procuring the explosives, reportedly from Annur. Mr. Ramasubramanian added that officials are conducting searches in the forest to locate the injured elephant for rendering treatment.
