Body of missing woman official of Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand found in Chilla canal

Rishikesh, January 11

The body of a missing Rajaji Tiger Reserve official was recovered from the Chilla canal here on Thursday, taking the death toll to five, an SDRF official said.

The tiger reserve’s wildlife warden Aloki Devi had been missing since January 7 after she fell into the canal from an electric vehicle which crashed into a tree during a trial run, killing four people, including two forest officers. 

On Thursday morning, Devi’s body was found floating on the surface of the canal, which had been scoured by a team of divers since the accident occurred, SDRF inspector Kavindra Sajwan said. 

The body was pulled out of the water and handed over to the police, he said.

On Wednesday, the police registered a case against the representatives of the companies which manufactured and customised the electric vehicle that met with the accident during a trial run.

The FIR has been registered under various sections of the IPC, including 304-A (causing death by negligence), 279 (negligent driving endangering human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by rash, negligent action), against the representatives of Aska and Pravaig Dynamics companies and the vehicle driver Ashwani Biju, Lakshman Jhula police station SHO Ravi Kumar Saini said.