‘It’s murder’: Maneka Gandhi on elephant’s death in Kerala
NEW DELHI : After a pregnant elephant died of eating cracker stuffed pineapple allegedly fed to her by a local in Kerala’s Mallapuram, BJP leader and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi slammed the State government for not taking animal cruelty seriously.
The BJP MP wrote on the micro-blogging site that Mallapuram is “known for its intense animal activity” and yet authorities did not take any action to curb the menace.
The elephant had died on May 27 after she ate the pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw. The elephant was seen standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in the water, for some relief from the pain after the fruit exploded in her mouth.
“Mallapuram is known for its intense criminal activity especially with regards to animals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it. I can only suggest that you call/email and ask for action,” she tweeted.
She also attached a document along with her tweet claiming that “About 600 elephants are killed by the temples by breaking their legs, beating and starving them and otherwise by private owners by insuring them and then deliberately drowning them or giving them gangrene by putting rusted nails on them.
I talk to the department almost every week about an elephant and they do absolutely nothing.”Maneka Gandhi further posted telephone numbers of the state forest minister as well as other officials urging people to reach out to them.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Mannarkkad forest range officer said that an FIR has been lodged against unidentified people under relevant sections of the Wild Life Protection Act over the incident.
While talking to News Agency ANI Maneka Gandhi told , “It’s murder, Malappuram is famous for such incidents, it’s India’s most violent district, for instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds and dogs die at one time.”
The Former Union Minister further said that Forest Secretary should be removed, and also sought the resignation of the state’s minister for wildlife protection. “Rahul Gandhi is from that area, why has he not taken action?,” Maneka also questioned his silence on the elephant’s death in Malappuram.
“Kerala government has not taken any action in Malappuram, it seems they are scared,” She said, adding “An elephant is killed every 3 days in Kerala. We have less than 20,000 elephants left in India, they are declining rapidly.”
According to reports, the Mannarkkad forest range officer today said that an FIR was lodged against unidentified people under relevant sections of the Wild Life Protection Act.
According to details shared by Forest officer Mohan Krishnan on Facebook, the wild elephant had come out of the forest in search of food. As she walked on the streets, locals offered her pineapple stuffed with crackers, which exploded in the pregnant elephant’s mouth and she died on May 27.
Forest officials reportedly brought two captive elephants to lead her out of the river but attempt to rescue her was in vain. The cracker explosion in her mouth is understood to have badly injured her tongue and mouth and was unable to eat anything because of her injuries.
(With Agency Report).
