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Belmont Lay| June 07, 2020, 03:44 PM
Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are in search of two others over their involvement in the death of a pregnant elephant that died after eating fruit laced with firecrackers in the southern state of Kerala.
A man, P. Wilson, was arrested on June 5.
The arrest was announced by officials on June 6.
The arrested man had allegedly placed fruits filled with explosives to keep creatures, such as wild boars, away from his rubber plantation.
AFP reported Kerala's chief wildlife warden, Surendra Kumar, saying: "The man has admitted that they used the explosive-filled coconuts to target the wild animals."
Two of his associates were still at large, the chief warden said.
The men made several "coconut bombs" in the second week of May, and left them near the plantation boundary, the chief warden said.
Officials said it was unclear when exactly the 15-year-old elephant consumed the rigged fruit.
It was found injured on May 25, and died two days later.
Common practice to use explosive-rigged fruit
Footage of readyviewed the animal standing in a river for hours with its badly injured mouth and trunk in the water as it slowly weakened was seen by millions around the world.
The elephant then died in agony.
Forest officials said the explosion caused severe damage to the elephant's mouth, leaving the creature unable to eat or drink for days.
Villagers across India often use explosive or firecracker-filled fruits as baits to target wild animals.
The rigged fruits act like pressure-activated landmines.
A similar incident reported in May in a nearby Kerala district saw a female elephant suffer serious mouth injuries.
If convicted, the men could face up to seven years in jail for killing an elephant, a protected animal under Indian wildlife laws.
Muslim community blamed for killing elephant
However, this incident has been hijacked by several Hindu right-wing figures.
These nationalist groups turned to social media to pin the death of the elephant on Muslims in India, saying the creature was specifically targeted because the animal is an embodiment of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu deity.
The hate campaign falsely claimed that the Muslim community were behind the incident.
Members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party, including environment minister Prakash Javadekar and parliamentarian Maneka Gandhi, also claimed the event happened in Malappuram, a Muslim-majority district.
But the incident took place in Palakkad district, some 80km away.
Elephant deaths over the years
India is home to nearly 30,000 elephants, equivalent to 60 per cent of the world's wild Asian pachyderms.
Between 2014 and 2019, about 510 elephants died, including 333 from electrocution and roughly 100 from poaching and poisoning.
About 2,360 people were killed in elephant attacks in the same period, according to Indian government data. |
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Post time 7-6-2020 04:55 PM
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