Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 16 (IANS) Four days after news surfaced that two historically significant elephant tusks went missing from the high-security Pangode military camp in the heart of the state capital, investigators are still awaiting a decisive breakthrough in the case.

The tusks, valued at around Rs 2 crore in the international market, had been preserved at the Officers’ Club as part of the unit’s heritage collection.

Handed over by the then state government in 1929, they had remained safeguarded for nearly a century.

Their disappearance came to light after a DJ party held at the Officers’ Mess of the Madras Regiment, triggering alarm within defence and police circles.

Despite multiple rounds of searches, the tusks remain untraced.

Police drained a nearby pond, cleared surrounding wooded areas and conducted extensive combing operations within the camp premises.

Soldiers, too, carried out internal inspections of the Officers’ Mess and adjacent facilities, yet, no tangible lead has emerged.

Investigators maintain that the tusks may not have been taken outside the camp, citing the stringent security protocols governing entry and exit.

The sheer weight of the artifacts estimated to be nearly 100 kg and the layered security checks in place have strengthened suspicions that the theft could not have occurred without insider knowledge or assistance.

Fingerprints lifted from the glass display frame that once housed the tusks are being analysed.

Samples from 20 personnel attached to the Officers’ Mess have been collected for comparison.

Officials caution, however, that the presence of fingerprints alone cannot establish culpability, as staff routinely handled the display area.

Eighteen individuals who entered the camp to organise the DJ event have also been questioned.

CCTV footage is under scrutiny to track movements before and after the function.

Investigators are examining whether the tusks were smuggled out along with event management equipment.

A special team led by the Cantonment Assistant Commissioner is probing the case, even as senior city police officials monitor progress.

At the same time, authorities are exploring the possibility of organised ivory smuggling networks, given the high international value of such artifacts.

With procedural limitations on police access within a military installation, the probe remains complex.

Days on, the absence of a clear lead has only deepened the mystery surrounding the heritage heist.

–IANS

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