Animal rights activist raises questions over death of elephant in Malappuram

New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): Animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi on Tuesday raised questions over officials in Kerala "burning in hurry" carcass of an elephant who died on Monday of serious injuries and "not making the post-mortem report public".
Maulekhi said there is more to the story than what meets the eye.
"The way the (Kerala) government has acted around this whole issue reeks of contempt. If they claim that the elephant had died due to the injuries caused by a fight with other elephants, then why couldn't they make the post-mortem report public. Why did they have to burn the carcass in a hurry?" Maulekhi asked.
She said such incidents were increasing because the Kerala government has given "too many relaxations to people who put out poisonous baits and explosives to kill wild boars".
"There is prize money of Rs 1000 for such people and as a result, all unemployed people have started cashing in money by killing innocent animals. The eatables, set out as baits for boars, are often eaten by animals leading to their deaths," Maulekhi said, adding that such policies should be discouraged and abolished.
On Monday, an elephant succumbed to his wounds in Kerala's Malappuram district after it was found seriously injured in North Nilambur forest range of the district.
An official said the injury marks suggested that it could have been caused during a fight with other elephants. The carcass of the elephant was burnt by forest officials after conducting a post mortem.
In another incident which caused massive uproar, an elephant died last month in Palakkad district of the state after it was fed a fruit stuffed with crackers. Forest officials said that the pregnant elephant died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw. (ANI)