Thrissur: The Forest Department, which is investigating the "mysterious" death of an elephant found buried on a private property near a forest area in Vazhakode, has submitted a copy of the FIR to the Vadakkanchery magistrate court. The carcass of the wild elephant was found with a tusk missing.

The owner of the rubber plantation Roy (54), and Akhil Mohanan (34) have been identified as culprits in the case. Eight more people who are involved in the crime are absconding. 

According to Akhil Mohan who chopped off the elephant tusk, the wild jumbo was electrocuted on June 14, as it came in contact with an electric fence that was set to trap wild pigs. 

Meanwhile, a person running a private resort in Kumali is said to have helped the miscreants in destroying the evidence of the crime. He is said to have assigned the task to a group of men, who travelled to Vazhakode on his instruction.   

However, officials are not convinced with the claims of the arrestees that the jumbo accidentally fell into the abandoned well after electrocution. They are investigating the matter further. The investigation team led by Machad range officer Sreedevi Madhusudhanan and deputy ranger P Vinod have ramped up operations to identify the other culprits.

Certain internal organs and the skin of the elephant have been sent to the lab for investigation.

Forest Minister AK Saseendran had ordered a probe into the incident after the elephant carcass was found. He had termed the incident "mysterious". (with inputs from agencies)