Bhubaneswar: A 20-year-old female elephant was electrocuted in a wire trap laid by the owner of a mango orchard in Angul’s Chhendipada range on Tuesday, the second such death in three days. The accused is on the run.Preliminary inquiry suggests the farmer electrified a solar fence with high-voltage current tapped from a nearby electric pole. Solar fencing is installed by the forest department to prevent elephants from entering human habitation.“As per preliminary investigation, it seems to be a case of misuse of a private solar fencing installed by the farmer with permission from the forest department. Normally, the allowed current in a solar fence just gives a jerk to the animal, thus preventing it from proceeding further. But if it is electrified with high voltage, it can be fatal,” said divisional forest officer (Angul), Nitish Kumar.He said the farmer installed the fence to protect his mango orchard. “Usually, we inspect the solar fence to check whether the right amount of current is flowing. In this case, I have summoned private agencies, which install solar fences, to check how he did it,” Kumar added.On Saturday, a 10-year-old tusker was electrocuted in Angul’s Bantala range in a similar fashion and the accused farmer was arrested. Wildlife campaigner Biswajit Mohanty pointed out that lack of inspection by field personnel is leading to recurrence of such incidents. “Barely three days after the Bantala incident, this is also a deliberate electrocution trap to kill an elephant. During mango season, elephants often raid orchards and even gardens behind houses. Farmers use solar-powered steel wire fences to stop them. It is up to the forest department to regulate such practices in coordination with the energy department,” said Mohanty.In April, deputy chief minister K V Singh Deo’s written reply in the assembly revealed that as many as 27 elephants died due to electrocution, most in western Odisha in the past five years. While districts like Sambalpur, Deogarh, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Balangir and Bargarh together accounted for 17 electrocution deaths, the remaining 10 were reported from other parts of the state.Mohanty said there should be regular patrolling along the areas reporting frequent elephant menace to check if power lines are being misused. “Now there are detectors available to check if there is an electric wire laid nearby. The forest and energy departments should jointly work to ensure that such incidents don’t recur,” he added.