Focusing on 3 suspects, will bring elephant killers to justice, says Kerala CM

The brutal killing of the elephant late last month in Kerala has sparked outrage across the country.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday took to Twitter to address the outrage following the brutal killing of a pregnant elephant late last month and said that the culprits would be brought to book.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said those who fed a pregnant elephant a pineapple filler with crackers that eventually killed her would be brought to book. (Twitter/@ForestKerala)

“An investigation is underway, focusing on three suspects. The police and forest departments will jointly investigate the incident. The district police chief and the district forest officer visited the site today. We will do everything possible to bring the culprits to justice.

The chief minister assured people that justice would be done.

“Many of you have reached out to us. We want to assure you that your concerns will not go in vain. Justice will prevail,” he said in another tweet.

Also Watch: Kerala elephant killing | ‘Will nab and punish the culprits’: Prakash Javadekar

Vijayan also said it was unfortunate that some people were using this tragedy to unleash a hate campaign.

“Having said that, we are saddened by the fact some have used this tragedy to unleash a hate campaign. Lies built upon inaccurate descriptions and half truths were employed to obliterate the truth. Some even tried to import bigotry into the narrative. Wrong priorities.”

Earlier in the day, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Central government has taken a “very serious note” of the incident.

“We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill,” Javadekar said in a tweet.

The elephant was fatally injured after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers which exploded in her mouth and broke her jaw.

The inhuman act sparked outrage across the country as the elephant died a painful death. The incident is believed to have occurred on May 27. According to forest officials the elephant might have swallowed the fruit filled with crackers which was meant as a snare to catch wild boars.