Hassan: While two elephant calves were run over on the tracks in Sakleshpur not so long ago, a tusker was discovered run down by a train in Bage village of the taluk on Monday.
The elephant that seemed to be around 20- years- old, had suffered internal bleeding and damage to its organs. In June this year, the two dead calves were found near the tracks in the reserve forests of the Western Ghats, but the latest incident has been reported from revenue land.
Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sivaram Babu said the necropsy report, which was expected to give the exact time of the elephant’s death, would help identify the train, which ran it over.
He, however, believes the tusker killed in the accident is not from Sakleshpur's forests, but may have crossed over into Hassan territory from neighbouring Chikkamagaluru district via Belur.
After the June tragedy on the tracks, forest officials had asked South Western Railway (SWR), Mysuru division, to reduce the speed limit of its trains and instructed them to sound their horn at regular intervals to scare away straying animals and keep them safe.
Besides goods train, two express trains pass through Sakleshpur at night, one leaving Karwar station for Bengaluru and another departing from Bengaluru for Karwar. Both trains cross Sakleshpur station between 12.30 am to 2 am.
When contacted, Divisional Railway Manager of SWR, Mysuru division, Aparna Garg, said trains operating via Sakleshpur did so at reduced speed and so it could not be the cause of the latest incident of an elephant being run over.
