The news comes from the most educated state of India. A pregnant female elephant died in Kerala. If the death were due to natural causes, it would hardly have been discussed.
Let me tell you further. The female elephant was abused by the locals. People even fed her a pineapple full of firecrackers. This cracker exploded in her mouth. In Malappuram, North Kerala, a forest officer shared the incident on social media, after which the matter came to light.
Mohan Krishnan, who is in the rescue team, wrote on social media that the female elephant wandered out of the forest in search of food and reached the nearby village. She was roaming on the streets of the village. Seeing this, some people fed her a couple of firecrackers filled in a pineapple. The firecrackers exploded in her mouth, which severely injured her mouth and tongue.
She could not eat anything due to the pain. She got into a river to get some relief. Despite this, the female elephant did not harm anyone. She did not attack anyone. She was hungry and was looking for food. Krishnan further wrote that the female elephant reached the Velliyar river in search of food. Here she got some rest by putting her mouth in water. Her life could not be saved.
When the forest officers got this information, they took two elephants to rescue her. The female elephant was dragged out of the water after great difficulty. But later she lost the battle of life. People expressed resentment on social media about the whole incident.
What Politicians Said On The Issue
Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan has promised strict action against the culprits. He stated, “Strict action will be taken against those who are responsible for killing the pregnant elephant. Forest department is probing the case and the culprits will be brought to book.”
Maneka Gandhi
BJP leader, Maneka Gandhi lashed out at the Kerala government for not taking any action. She said Malappuram is India’s most violent district and an elephant is killed every 3 days in Kerala. She stated, “It is a murder, Malappuram is famous for such incidents, it is India’s most violent district. For instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds and dogs die at one time.” She further said, “Kerala Government has not taken any action in Malappuram, it seems they are scared. An elephant is killed every 3 days in Kerala. We have less than 20,000 elephants left in India, they are rapidly declining,” the animal rights activist further said. Maneka also questioned Rahul Gandhi and demanded the removal of forest secretary, and the concerned minister. “Forest Secretary should be removed, the minister (for wildlife protection), if he has any sense, should resign. Rahul Gandhi is from that area, why has he not taken action?,” she asked.
Shashi Tharoor
“The crime was so cruel that it has shocked consciences worldwide. I am receiving emails and requests from around the globe to condemn it and punish the evildoers. The outrage is all the more intense because no one ever expected that such a thing would happen to wildlife in Kerala.” senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said.
Mimi Chakraborty
“In May 2020, the @KeralaForest dept removed all safeguards for killing wild boar. Now poison and crackers are being planted in fruits used by locals to and left in the wild. It is this policy which is responsible for the horrible death of the pregnant elephant. Must be rolled back. Hundreds of elephants are chained for life in the temples of Kerala. Their slow miserable deaths are not even reported. More calves are added to this lockdown every year. The Heritage Animal of India deserves to live free and their habitat (must be) protected.”
Shobha Karandlaje
“Heart-Wrenching instance from KERALA! State with 100% literacy rate failing to hold Humanity & turning out to be a State of goons! Infact the incident took place in the Red-Jihad breeding ground Malappuram of Kerala! Will Lutyens & @PetaIndia speak against this brutality!?”
Abhishek Manu Singhvi
“Most disgusting: pregnant elephant offered a firecracker laden pineapple by locals which exploded in its mouth & caused it to die. I don’t normally call for “eye for an eye” but the actual animals who did this must be treated the same way.”