Three elephant tusks seized in Tripura; suspect on the run

Agartala, Aug 3 (IANS) Three elephant tusks have been seized from a village in Tripura's Unakoti district, officials said on Sunday.

A forest official said that no one has been arrested so far in this connection, as the owner of the house, Mayub Ali, from whose house tusks were seized, managed to escape before the police and forest officials reached the area.

Acting on a tip-off about the smuggling of drugs, police conducted a raid at the house of Ali at Sonapur village in Unakoti district on Saturday evening.

During the search, police found three elephant tusks in Ali's house, and they informed the forest officials, who seized the elephant tusks.

"We were unable to arrest the house owner Ali as he managed to flee before the arrival of the police," the official told the media, adding that a case has been registered and a search is on to nab the accused.

Assistant Wildlife Officer, Kailashahar, Subhankar Biswas, said the tusks are not of adult elephants.

It is not yet known how Ali procured these tusks, he said.

Biswas said that the Forest Department, in association with the police, would take appropriate legal action against those involved in the case.

Recently, the police lodged a case after the carcass of an elephant with its few body parts missing was recovered from a forest at Pramod Nagar in Khowai district.

As per a report of the state Forest Department, a few years ago, Tripura had 102 elephants, including 42 wild elephants and 60 in captivity.

Meanwhile, Tripura Forest Department is trying to start an elephant safari for the tourists at the Teliamura area of Khowai district.

"If the government approves the plan, we will start the elephant safari from the next winter season," a forest official said.

--IANS

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