The Odisha government on Thursday constituted a special investigation to probe the death and recovery of skeletal remains of elephants from the Athagarh Forest Division in Cuttack district following a rap from the Centre.

The move followed the ministry of environment and the forest’s direction to the state government for strict action against the poachers to ensure the protection of the wildlife heritage.

“Elephant is our heritage animal and has been given the highest protection under WLP (WildLife Protection) Act. The ministry has taken cognizance of the incident and the matter has been taken up with the state government for strict action against the poachers to ensure protection of our wildlife heritage,” said Union minister for environment, forest and climate change, Bhupender Yadav in a tweet on Wednesday.

Yadav’s tweet came in response to Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s tweet in which he said: “The death of a wounded tusker who was shot by poachers in Athagarh forest is distressing for all wildlife enthusiasts. This is not just a one-off incident in Odisha.”

In the last few days, forest officials in the Athagarh forest division found the skeletal remains of three elephants. Besides, a tusker succumbed to bullet injuries in the division on Wednesday raising questions about an alleged nexus between poachers and forest officials.

The 10-year-old tusker had received bullets in at least five places on its body including its head, trunk, and leg. It battled for life for nearly 10-days before succumbing to its injuries.

After a hue and cry over the issue, the state government on Thursday constituted a three-member committee under the leadership of the conservator of forest to probe the death and recovery of skeletal remains.

“Officials in the rank of a DSP or above of the crime branch will be a part of the investigating team,” said principal chief conservator of forest Sashi Paul.