A 56-year-old owner of a home garden was taken into custody on suspicion of laying a live wire that caused the death of a tusker.

The tusker had been electrocuted in the early hours of last morning in a home garden at Nekatunuwewa in Kahatagasdigiliya.

Wildlife conservators say the tusker was around 20 years old and had tusks of about 2.4 inches long each.

Officers of the Anuradhapura wildlife office are conducting further investigation