BIJNOR: Three months after an elephant was electrocuted to death, police arrested the second accused in the case. Farmer Balkaar Singh was nabbed by a team of forest department and Bijnor police on Sunday. Sarjeet Singh, the other accused, was arrested a fortnight ago. The two farmers, hailing from Meerapur in Maloni village, had used naked wires to fence their field, which led to the jumbo being electrocuted.Divisional forest officer M Semmaran said, “Police have arrested the two farmers involved in killing of the elephant. They had laid naked wire around their fields, and had electricity pass through them, which led to the death of the jumbo.”In August this year, a 35-year-old elephant was found dead near Meerapur in Maloni village. The incident had come to the fore when the villagers spotted the body lying on the ground in the forest area.They informed the forest officials. Citing injuries on the jumbo’s neck and stomach, officials had suspected a poaching attempt and a case was registered against unidentified persons. Later, the post mortem report revealed that the animal had been electrocuted to death.During the police investigation, it was found that two farmers, Sarjeet Singh and Balkaar Singh of Maloni village, had used naked live wire fencing around their fields, which killed the elephant.According to sources, many farmers living close to the forest area surround their field with live wires to keep animals from destroying their crop. The method is illegal. In such a situation, the forest department suggests solar fencing, which gives a mild shock, without killing the animal. However, farmers alleged that the forest department hadn’t installed solar fencing despite their repeated pleas.

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