An animal rights activist and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi slammed the Kerala government for not taking any action after a pregnant elephant was killed by feeding pineapple filled with crackers in the Malappuram district.
The shocking incident was brought to light by the forest officer in Malappuram who posted the details of the incident on his Facebook wall. In the post, he said that the pregnant elephant had come out of the forest trying to enter the nearby village in search of food. As the elephant was walking down the street, some of the locals fed her crackers stuffed pineapple which exploded in her mouth and ended up killing her.
Gandhi lashed out at the forest officials and the government and termed the district as the most violent district for elephants where 3 elephants are killed every 3 days. She said,
“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.”
‘Rahul Gandhi Hasn’t done anything’
As per the Wildlife Protection Act, using snares to trap, wound, or kill any animal is a cruel practice, and even an attempt is a punishable offense. The forest officials have confirmed that the injuries on the elephant were due to an explosive. Gandhi further lashed out at the Kerala government and 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. 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.”
The forest officer in his post also mentioned that the elephant had suffered major injuries in her mouth even as she continued to walk in pain. The FIR has been registered under section 9 (prohibition of hunting any wild animal specified in schedules I, II, III and IV) and section 51 (offense committed in relation to any animal specified in Schedule or Part II of Schedule II).
Source: India TV
