Alipurduar, Jan. 17: The beat officer of East Nimati, Shankar Chatterjee, has been showcaused for “negligence in duty”. He has been censured for not informing his superiors in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) about the incident in which timber smugglers were trampled by a herd of wild elephants.

On January 14, a gang of timber smugglers was in for a nasty shock when two of them were killed by a herd of wild elephants while cutting down trees.

The incident in the BTR had triggered several questions, especially since the felling took place within 200 m of the beat office, which, contrary to forest norms was without an officer at that moment.

L.G. Lepcha, the field director of BTR, said: “The deputy field director has already issued him (Chatterjee) a showcause letter. He has been asked to submit a report within seven days, mentioning where he was on January 14. Apart from that, very soon, we will conduct raids in the forest to stop illegal felling of trees.”