Silchar, June 17: Hailakandi divisional forest officials took custody of two elephants today following an ownership row between two persons living on either side of the Indo-Bangladesh border.

The elephants had been recovered by police from Lakhirbond village in Hailakandi district of Assam's Barak Valley on Monday.

After getting information about the recovery of elephants, Makhlisur Rahman, a resident of Akhaura-Mahishmara village in Moulavi Bazar district of Bangladesh, arrived at Hailakandi yesterday and claimed the ownership of the elephants.

Another person, Mojibul Islam, a resident of Rongpur village in Hailakandi, also claimed the elephants' ownership. He has moved court, saying his cow elephant went missing around eight years ago and had given birth to a calf.

Gunin Saikia, divisional forest officer of Hailakandi, told The Telegraph today, "One pachyderm is an adult while the other is old. The older one is considered to be the mother of the adult jumbo."

Rahman said his jumbos went missing from his village, bordering Kailasahar in Tripura, on January 16. He said he had lodged an FIR with Kalaura police station in Bangladesh on January 28. Bangladesh police informed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the issue was raised at the BSF-BGB flag meeting on January 22. Rahman, who is now in Hailakandi, told reporters that the Bangladesh government had also sought Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar's help in tracing the elephants.

The police produced both the elephants before the court of the chief judicial magistrate last evening. The court asked the Hailakandi superintendent of police to investigate the matter and submit a report before it on June 23.

Saikia said the elephants would be in their custody till June 23.