Death of pregnant elephant: What Forest Minister Javdekar says about the cruel act

New Delhi, June 04: The country is grieving over the horrific killing of an elephant which was pregnant at the time, by allegedly feeding her a pineapple stuffed with crackers in Kerala's Malappuram.

Addressing to the matter the Union Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javdekar on Thursday said that strict action will be taken against those involved the killing of the pregnant elephant.

The minister said, "Central Government has taken a very serious note of the killing of an elephant in Kerala. We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed firecrackers and kill".

Javdekar assured about taking strict action as he said that the authority has deputed senior officers in Malappuram to nab the culprits.

Forest officials of Mannarkkad, Kerala have lodged an FIR on Wednesday against unidentified people under relevant sections of Wild Life Protection Act over the incident.

The incident came to light after a forest officer, Mohan Krishnan, who was part of the Rapid Response Team to rescue the elephant, narrated the details of the horrific death on social media.

"When we saw her she was standing in the river, with her head dipped in the water. She had a sixth sense that she was going to die. She took the Jalasamadhi in the river in a standing position", Krishnan, who was deputed to bring the elephant back to the shore, wrote.

The incident took place on May 27 while the elephant was standing in water and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

"She didn't harm a single human being even when she ran in searing pain in the streets of the village. She didn't crush a single home. This is why I said, she is full of goodness," Krishnan wrote in an emotional note in Malayalam.

"First, we observed this animal on May 23 when we were informed by locals that an elephant has been roaming around in the private area of the forest. When one of our staff members went to saw the elephant, it was observed that the wound in the lower jaw area was exposed. Later, for at least 24 hours the animal was trying to look for water and on May 24 we received information that the animal has come into river Velliyar," said Wildlife Officer, Silent Valley National Park.

"Even then the animal did not take any solid matter and only took water. It was very weak so we called a vet, he was of the opinion that it may not be possible to revive back but will see what options are available. Later we were told to observe the animal's behaviour," he added.

"Today we thought of taking the animal to a safe spot to examine. Anyway, we had very little hope of reviving the animal because it has not been eating for many days. So, before we could take the animal out of the stream, it had collapsed and we hope it was a peaceful death," he said.

"Her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple and it exploded in her mouth. It is certain that she was offered the pineapple filled with crackers to eliminate her," Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar told PTI.

Business tycoon and philanthropist Ratan Tata on Wednesday took Twitter to mourn the death of the elephant saying he was grieved and shocked.

"Such criminal acts against innocent animals are no different than acts of meditated murder against other humans," wrote the veteran industrialist who is known as a keen animal lover.