The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended the field director and the ACF following the deaths of 10 wild elephants in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve area of Umaria district recently. In the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, ten elephants from a group of wild elephants died suspiciously one by one over the past few days.

A team of senior officials, including the Forest Minister of State, Dilip Ahirwar, has visited the area. No pesticides have been found in the preliminary report, and the detailed report of the post-mortem is yet to come. Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav received detailed information regarding the deaths of the elephants from the high-level team that returned from Umaria. Dr. Yadav said that a state-level elephant task force will be formed in the state. Elephant friends, or Hathi Mitras, will also be deployed to ensure elephant-human coexistence.