Keonjhar: Forest officials Monday arrested three youths on charge of playing mischief with a herd of elephants and shooting video of the act inside Champua forest range in Keonjhar district.
The accused were identified as Debashis Behera of Rajia, Md. Ismail and Abdul Halim of Malanguda. The matter came to light after a video of the prank went viral on social media.
The three youths recently harassed and teased a herd of elephants near Rajia jungle by pulling their tails and beating them with sticks. They even shot a video of the prank.
The three were arrested under Wildlife Protection Act 1972, DFO Santsoh Joshi said. The accused were produced in court after their arrest. They were remanded in judicial custody after their rejection of their bail pleas.
PNN