A guy was arrested and another detained through the joint investigation groups of the forest and police departments in relationship with the brutal killing of any pregnant elephant in Palakkad in Kerala, state’s forest minister K Raju said on Friday.
The arrested man has become known as P Wilson, an employee of an estate that cultivates cash crops and spices. The minister said more arrests is going to be by evening.
Both men have reportedly told interrogators that they can create a snare of fruit full of crackers to scare wild boars, which often destroyed their farms.
The incident stumbled on light on May 27 when Mohan Krishnan, a forest officer, wrote a Facebook post after witnessing the death.
The elephant rushed to nearby Velliyar river after eating the fruit and died there even as forest officials rushed to rescue it. The crackers exploded as soon as the elephant chomped on the pineapple.
The killing of your 15-year-old elephant had triggered countrywide protests as Bollywood actors, business icons and sports persons joined to condemn the action.
Many including, former Union minister Maneka Gandhi, claimed it happened in Muslim-majority Malappuram district. Her sweeping comment, which many said were made without verifying facts, triggered widespread condemnation in Kerala.
People of Kerala have started a campaign “We are with Malappuram” to counter the attack from the district known for communal amity.
The embarrassed government had constituted the special investigation team on Thursday because the killing from the elephant whipped up controversy.
