Kerala Forest Department makes its first arrest in pregnant elephant's heinous murder

An arrest has been made by the Kerala Forest Department in the case of the horrific killing of a pregnant elephant last month in a forest area in Palakkad district. In a tweet, the forest department confirmed the "major breakthrough!" and said, "KFG has zeroed on the culprits and recorded the first arrest in the wild elephant death case."

Palakkad SP speaking to Republic TV said that the arrested man works in a farm and his aides will be arrested soon. The official said that the accused is being interrogated and he has confessed the crime. "We are also trying to investigate from which place he purchased the explosive material," he added.

This comes after a nationwide outrage over the incident prompted the Centre and the state government to take strict measures. On Thursday, Kerala Forest Department informed that a special investigation team has been set up to probe the death of the elephant. It has also said that it will leave no stone unturned to ensure 'maximum punishment' to the culprits.

'Will not leave any stone unturned'

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said stern action will be taken against those who killed the pregnant wild elephant by feeding it a cracker-filled pineapple. "The Environment Ministry has taken a serious note of the death of an elephant in Kerala. Has sought a complete report on the incident. Stern action will be taken against the culprit(s)," Javadekar said in a statement.

'Justice will prevail'

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured that justice will prevail. Taking to Twitter, Vijayan stated that an investigation is underway, focusing on three suspects. The police and forest departments will jointly investigate the incident. He added that the government will also try to address the causes behind the increased incidences of Human-wildlife conflict. 

His administration has come under significant flak for allowing the use of bomb-stuffed fruits, which have claimed multiple elephants, and allegedly hundreds of other animals in recent months.

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Female elephant's posr-mortem report out

The preliminary post-mortem report of the female wild elephant at Mannarkkad Forest Division said that the immediate cause of the death of the animal was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure. "Drowning, followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure, is the immediate cause of death of the elephant," the post-mortem report read.

However, the report also confirmed that the elephant had suffered incapacitating wounds in its oral cavity following an explosive blast in the mouth after which it took shelter in the Velliyar river. "The major and incapacitating wounds and injuries in oral cavity caused localised sepsis and have most likely occurred following an explosive blast in the mouth. This has resulted in excruciating pain and distress in the region and prevented the animal from taking food and water for nearly two weeks. Severe debility and weakness, in turn, resulted in the final collapse in water that led to drowning," the post-mortem report further read.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a 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 its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth

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