Pregnant Elephant Death: 1 man arrested in Kerala

New Delhi : A man has been arrested and another has been detained by the joint investigation teams of the police and forest departments in connection with the brutal killing of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad in Kerala, state’s forest minister K Raju said on Friday.

The brutal killing of the pregnant elephant has created a nationwide outrage with most of the people sharing their thoughts on social media, demanding severe punishment for the culprits.

The arrested man has been identified as P Wilson, an employee of an estate that cultivates cash crops and spices. The minister said more arrests will be by evening.

During the interrogation, the men told police officials that they set up a snare of fruit filled with crackers to scare wild boars, which often destroyed their farms.

The whole incident came to light after a forest officer Mohan Krishnan wrote on Facebook after witnessing the death of the poor animal. 

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 against the district known for communal amity.

The embarrassed government had constituted the special investigation team on Thursday as the killing of the elephant whipped up controversy.