The forest squad of the Criminal Investigation Department arrested five people in Chikkamagaluru and recovered two tusks, weighing about 15 kg, from them on Friday. The accused is said to have taken the tusks from carcass of a tusker in the Bhadra Tiger Reserve area near Allampura in Chikkamagaluru taluk.
The police, acting on a tip-off, arrested Shivakumar, Sundaresh, Mahanthesh, Noor Ahmed, and Anjanappa. They were all workers in an estate bordering Bhadra Tiger Reserve. Among them, Shivakumar and Sundaresh noticed the carcass and separated the tusks. They wanted to sell it with the help of other three, when the police caught them.
Based on the information obtained from the accused, the police visited the spot and recovered the remains of the elephant on Saturday. They found the skull and some bones of the animal. The officers suspected it died some years ago.
The police handed over the tusks to the Forest Department. They booked the case against the accused under the sections of Wildlife Protection Act. The accused have been remanded to judicial custody.
