Live-wire trap kills man & jackal in CG forest, six nabbed

Raipur: A live-wire trap allegedly laid to hunt wild animals claimed the life of a 37-year-old man and a jackal in the Mainpat forest area of Chhattisgarh's Surguja district. Receiving word of the deaths, forest and police teams nabbed six villagers alleged to have set the electrocution trap.The man, identified as Misra Yadav, accidentally came in contact with the live wire laid inside the forest and was fatally electrocuted on the spot, while his brother-in-law suffered burns while trying to rescue him.During investigation, forest staff also found the carcass of a jackal, indicating that the trap wire, set to high voltage, was set deliberately to hunt wildlife.According to forest officers, the man had entered the teak nursery area with his brother-in-law and two other villagers, allegedly to steal wood, when he walked into the trap around 10 pm on Thursday. The cable had been laid deep inside the forest and was connected to an 11 kV power source, turning it into a death trap.A team led by Mainpat ranger Prashant Ohdar seized about 1,300 metres of wire from the spot. Preliminary inquiry pointed to the use of a live-wire trap to poach wildlife.Forest officials alleged that the accused had been using the wire trap for poaching over several days. A case was registered against the accused under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, and its amended provisions.Apart from the forest department, Kamleshwarpur police also booked the accused for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.