Kochi: Significant headway has been made in the investigation into the recent gory death of a pregnant wild elephant. The tragedy happened due to a suspected man-animal conflict in a forest area in Palakkad district of Kerala. Forest department officials said Thursday that they have zeroed in on three suspects who may have harmed the pregnant elephant. The elephant had eaten a pineapple laced with explosives. It caused the wild creature agonizing pain.
Chief Minister’s statement
The development was confirmed Thursday by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. “Justice will prevail,” Vijayan promised in tweets. He was responding to a tide of anger and grief after visuals of the elephant, dead in a river emerged.
A special investigation team (SIT) set up for probing the death of the elephant was questioning several suspects, said source.
Gory act
The elephant had consumed a pineapple filled with fire crackers which exploded in the mouth in the Silent Valley Forest. It died about a week later May 27.
Forest department conducting separate probe
The forest department also said it would leave no stone unturned to ensure maximum punishment to the culprits. “In the offence registered as per the sections of WL (P)A for hunting the elephant, several suspects are being interrogated. SIT formed for the purpose is making a significant headway in this regard. Forest department will leave no stone unturned to ensure max punishment to the offenders,” it tweeted.
Seeking conclusive evidence
However, the forest department said there was no conclusive evidence that injury to the animal’s lower jaw was caused by firecrackers. It said that every angle is being looked into.
“There’s no conclusive evidence that injury to lower jaw was caused by pineapple stuffed with crackers. However this may be a possibility. “For this ghastly act unknown offenders have been booked,” another tweet said.
Javadekar promises strict action
The Centre has also taken serious note of the incident. It has sought a report from Kerala. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said Wednesday the Centre has sought a complete report. The culprits who killed the elephant will face stern action , the minister has assured.
In a tweet Thursday, the minister condemned the incident once more. “This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill. We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s),” Javadekar tweeted.
Agencies
