A lawyer and a native of Mallapuram district in Kerala has filed a complaint against BJP Leader Maneka Gandhi and others for allegedly involved in the hate campaign against Mallapuram and its residents following the death of a wild pregnant elephant which was fed pineapples packed with firecrackers in the state. Advocate Subash Chandran hailing from Mallapuram filed a plaint with the superintendent of police of the district seeking an FIR against the leader.
The complaint stated that Maneka Gandhi’s remarks on Mallapuram are derogatory and delivered to malign the image of the residents of the district. Secondly, the unfortunate demise of pregnant elephant occurred in Mannarkad of Palakkad district that gained mileage on social media in the last two days, and not in Mallapuram. The complaint alleged that a group is trying to give a communal colour to the incident citing the population demography of Mallapuram district, which is a Muslim majority area.
The complaint also clarified that the elephant died on 29 May in Palakkad and not in Mallapuram. The complaint also included the name of political commentator Tarah Fateh for allegedly indulging in the hate campaigns against the Mallapuram district and the minority community.
Subhash Chandran in the plaint sought FIR against the leader and others under section 153 A and 120 B etc of the Indian Penal Code.
Statement of Maneka Gandhi
BJP Leader and environment activist Maneka Gandhi stated that people of Mallapuram are repeat offenders in this matter and questioned why Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi is not taking any action.
— Maneka Sanjay Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) June 3, 2020
She said, “Action should be taken against everyone who is suspected in Malappuram. These are repeat offenders. Whether it is children being sold in orphanages, as we have found, it is Malappuram. Whether it is people being killed, look at the crime rate in Malappuram. What is being done in Malappuram? Nothing. Look at the communal conflict there. Highest in Malappuram. We take so much action against other districts, why is no action being taken against Malappuram. Rahul Gandhi is from the area, why is he not taking action?”
Maneka Gandhi had also tweeted that Mallapuram is known for its intense criminal activity especially with regards to animals. She alleged that no action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer in the district so they keep doing it.
Elephant death case
A pregnant elephant had died after some locals deliberately fed her cracker-filled pineapple which later exploded in her mouth. Allegedly, the incident took place in Malappuram district of Kerala when the elephant had wandered into the village in search of food. However, some villagers stuffed pineapples stuffed with firecrackers on her tusks while she was walking on the streets. The crackers exploded in her mouth that caused severe wound in her mouth because of that she could not eat for weeks and died due to starvation.
The autopsy report of the dead elephant has revealed that the crackers stuffed in the pineapple which was fed to the elephant burst in her mouth leading to severe injuries. The elephant was not able to eat anything due to the deep wounds, due to which she fell and drowned due to weakness. The elephant’s preliminary post-mortem examination was conducted at the Mannarkkad Forest Division. It revealed that the animal died as a result of drowning, followed by inhalation of water which led to lung failure. This has been identified as the immediate cause of the death of the elephant.
Female elephant’s jaw was broken
Chief Wildlife Warden Surendra Kumar had revealed that her jaw was broken and she was unable to eat after she chewed the pineapple which exploded in her mouth. The issue came to light when forest officer Mohan Krishnan shared about it on social media. He said that she was standing in the river with her head dipped in water. He wrote on Facebook, “She trusted everyone. When the pineapple she ate exploded, she must have been shocked not thinking about herself, but about the child, she was going to give birth to in 18 to 20 months.”
