Elephant found dead in Darjeeling

SILIGURI - A four-year-old tusker was found dead in a tea garden in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district Friday, forest officials said.

The elephant’s body was found in Simulbari tea garden in Siliguri sub division. Preliminary investigation revealed that the elephant died of poisoning after possibly having eaten plants treated with fertlisers.

However, a final conclusion could be drawn only after the viscera report arrived, said a forest official.

“We suspect the elephant died of poisoning but we can confirm it after the viscera report arrives,” Divisional Forest Officer Tapash Das said.

Siliguri is 600 km away from Kolkata.