"The incident which took place near Bar village came to light lastevening, when some locals spottedthe carcass of the spotted deer near a pond in the sanctuary, around 90 km away from the state capital Raipur," Balodabazar Division Forest Officer (DFO) J R Nayak told PTI.
The officer said preliminary investigation has revealed that urea was mixed in the water body.
"Theanimals must have consumed that water with led to their death," he said, adding viscera of the animals and water sample have been sent to lab, which will further throw light on the case
They had reportedly claimed that if the water body was indeed poisoned, several spotted deer would have been affected of it.
A senior forest official said the forest personnel at the ground have been instructed to cordon off the jungle to trace if more animals are found ill or dead in the area.