Thrissur: In what is seemingly an instance shrouded in mystery, the carcass of a wild elephant was found buried in a rubber plantation in Thrissur's Chelakkara on Friday. A senior forest official estimated the carcass to be around 15 days to a month old.

The carcass is believed to be of an animal less than 15 years old. The elephant's body was found in the property of Roy who is now absconding.

The forest department in the meantime used an excavator and unearthed the skeleton of the elephant; a portion of a tusk measuring 14 cm was reported missing. The portion of in question was allegedly sawed off from the animal and was seized on July 1 by the officials in Kodanad, according to a source; the tusk will be dispatched to Thrissur for further inspection.

"The inspection was conducted based on information received by the Machad range officer. We found the carcass of the elephant. The post-mortem is going on. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the animal's death," the forest official said.

Meanwhile, state forest minister A K Saseendran told the media that there surely was some mystery behind the incident.

"If the elephant was electrocuted by the power lines, then the area residents could have informed us. If someone had killed the elephant, we would take strong action," Saseendran said.

(With PTI inputs)