Varanasi, May 19 (IANS): Mithu, an elephant, will soon join the elephant patrol team at Dudhwa national park.

The elephant has been confined to Kashi Divisional Wildlife office compound for almost 18 months after he trampled a man to death in Chandauli in October 2019.

Mithu is taken for a ride of three kilometres every day to train him for patrolling duties.

According to Varanasi divisional forest officer (DFO), Dinesh Singh, "We have completed all formalities, and taken permission of CJM court and forest department for shifting this elephant to Dudhwa National Park. A team from Dudhwa will come with a special truck to take Mithu."

The elephant was passing through Paranpurkala village under Baburi police station in Chandauli on October 26, 2019 while he killed one Rama Shankar Seth.

His mahout tried to control him but in vain. The elephant was taken into custody by forest officials.

Mahout Tulsiram Sonkar said that one P.K. Tiwari of Jaunpur was Mithu's owner and had procured the pachyderm from Mohd Ahmed of Hamirpur district on a donation letter.

The DFO said Ahmed also could not produce genuine documents of ownership following which a case under sections of Wildlife Act was lodged and Sonkar sent to jail while Tiwari got a bail.

After detailed investigation, a charge sheet was filed in the court.

"On the basis of the investigation's outcome, it became clear that this wildlife animal of schedule-1 cannot be transferred to anyone except by way of inheritance or prior permission of chief wildlife warden of UP or competent authority authorized by wildlife (protection) act. So, we took all due permissions to shift Mithu to Dudhwa for leading a normal life with other elephants," he said.