Bhubaneswar, Jan. 22 -- Investigations into the disappearance and death of an elephant from Kandhamal district took a serious turn with officials recovering mutilated body parts buried near a dam in Odisha's Kalahandi, indicating an alleged attempt to conceal the incident.

As per reports, the decomposed carcass of the elephant, which went missing from the Baliguda forest division area in Kandhamal, was recovered from near a dam in Kesinga tehsil of Kalahandi district on Tuesday. The body was exhumed from nearly seven feet below the ground and was found in a fragmented condition. Body parts including the trunk, neck and other portions, were recovered.

During further investigation, officials unearthed large chunks of elephant meat and ski...