High-level team to probe death of Kerala elephant

A high-level team has been formed to investigate the killing of the pregnant elephant in Kerala. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has promised strict action against those responsible. He also added that there are three suspects in the case. The elephant had come out of the forests in search of food and water and wandered close to villages. She had eaten a fruit that was stuffed with direcrackers.

Speaking to the media, Kerala’s Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar said that it was an intentional act to kill the elephant. He said, “The department is of the view that this is an intentional act to kill the elephant. We have registered the case against unknown offenders and very soon you will hear of the arrests”.

Farmers are known to keep pineapples and other fruits stuffed with firecrackers to kill wild boars that destroy the crops. Under the law, capturing, trapping, poisoning or baiting of any wild animal or even attempting to do so is punishable by a fie or a jail term of seven years or both.

The elephant’s insides, tongue and mouth were ripped by the crackers and she wandered for days before walking into a river where she died in a standing position. She was pregnant and would have given birth in 18-20 months.

Many people have called for justice to be done to the elephant. Among them is industrialist Ratan Tata who called the killing of a pregnant elephant a “meditated murder” on Twitter.

I am grieved and shocked to know that a group of people caused the death of an innocent, passive, pregnant elephant by feeding the elephant with a pineapple filled with firecrackers. Such criminal acts against innocent animals are no different than acts of meditated murder against other humans. Justice needs to prevail. – Ratan Tata, Industrialist

The Centre has also taken a serious note of the incident and sought a report from the state.

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