A case has been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act (Representational)
Two leopards and two sloth bears were killed on Saturday after coming in contact with live wire in the core area of the Ordnance Factory Chanda in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district, a senior official said.
The factory comes within the Bhadravati Forest Range, some 40 kilometres from the district headquarters, he said.
"Ordnance Factory staff noticed the carcasses of the two leopards (a male and female) and sloth bears (a male and female) at a spot about one kilometre away from Bhadravati Forest range. It seems the electric lines were laid by poachers," said Chief Conservator of Forests SV Ramarao.
He said an offence had been registered under the Wildlife Protection Act and Indian Forest Act. Warora MLA Pratibha Dhanorkar demanded a high-level inquiry into the incident.
A video clip of the two leopards entering the Ordnance Factory premises soon went viral on social media.