States » SouthPosted at: Oct 1 2026 1:44PM


Wild elephant injured during RRT operation in Kerala, ANEC seeks probe

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 1 (UNI) The ANEC Trust has sought an immediate and independent inquiry into the alleged injury sustained by a wild elephant during a Rapid Response Team (RRT) operation at Chalakkudy in Kerala's Ernakulam district on September 30.
In a complaint submitted to senior authorities of the Kerala Forest Department, the union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Project Elephant and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, the Trust alleged that the elephant was subjected to intense driving, frightening and handling during the operation at Chikklayi/Pariyaram Range under Konnakudy Station.
The Trust said video footage circulating in the public domain appeared to show the elephant undergoing severe stress and distress and allegedly sustaining an injury during the operation.
It demanded that the original video footage and all other electronic evidence relating to the incident be immediately preserved and subjected to forensic examination to establish the sequence of events and the role of individual personnel.
The alleged use of firecrackers during the operation has also been specifically raised by the Trust, which sought an inquiry into who procured and brought the firecrackers to the site, who authorised their use, who actually used them and under whose instructions.
The inquiry should also establish the type and quantity of firecrackers used, whether their use formed part of any approved wildlife-management protocol and whether they contributed to the elephant's injury, panic, uncontrolled movement or prolonged distress, the Trust said.
The Trust said the use of firecrackers or other frightening devices could not be presumed to be an unavoidable part of an RRT operation and called for an independent examination of their necessity, legality, proportionality and compliance with wildlife-management procedures.
Referring to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the Trust sought examination of whether the acts visible in the footage attracted the statutory definition of "hunting" under Section 2(16), particularly provisions relating to driving, injuring, capturing or attempting such acts.
It also sought examination of the applicability of Section 9 and other relevant provisions of the Act, saying the legal character of the conduct should be determined on the basis of the actual acts carried out in the field and not merely on the ground that the personnel were participating in an official RRT operation.
The Trust demanded identification of all officers, staff and RRT personnel who participated in the operation and determination of their individual roles and responsibilities.
The inquiry should establish who ordered and authorised the operation, who led and supervised it, who procured, carried or used any frightening devices, who physically drove or handled the elephant, what instructions were given to field personnel and what safety and animal-welfare precautions were adopted, it said.
It also sought examination of the RRT duty roster, operation diary, field diary, GPS and location records, vehicle movement records, wireless communications, photographs, videos, veterinary records and other contemporaneous documents.
The Trust said responsibility should be fixed on individual personnel on the basis of evidence rather than treating the incident merely as a collective RRT operation.
It further demanded an independent veterinary examination of the elephant to determine the nature, extent and probable cause of the alleged injury.
The examination should, wherever possible, distinguish between injuries caused by natural circumstances and those potentially resulting from human intervention, including driving, pursuit, physical obstruction, collision, panic-induced movement or the use of firecrackers or other frightening methods.
The Trust requested that the inquiry be entrusted, wherever appropriate, to Forest Vigilance or another senior officer not connected with the concerned Range, citing the need to avoid any possible conflict of interest.
It also stressed the need to preserve original digital footage and other electronic evidence, saying contemporaneous material could be crucial in determining the sequence of events and the conduct of individual personnel.
The Trust said legitimate wildlife-conflict management was necessary for the protection of both people and wildlife, but maintained that such operations must comply with the law and established wildlife-management principles.
"An RRT operation is not, by itself, a legal immunity. The legality of the actual conduct of each individual involved must be examined independently," it said.
The Trust called for preservation of all original video and electronic evidence, identification of all personnel present, independent veterinary assessment, securing of operational, communication, GPS and vehicle records and investigation into the alleged use of firecrackers.
It also sought prosecution wherever a statutory offence was established and departmental proceedings wherever misconduct, negligence or dereliction of duty was established, besides an action-taken report detailing the findings, persons responsible, statutory provisions invoked and veterinary findings.
The Trust said there should be no premature conclusion either exonerating or implicating any individual and that the available evidence should be independently examined before responsibility was fixed.
"Wildlife management must follow the law. Official duty cannot become a licence for avoidable injury to protected wildlife," it said.
Adv Santhosh T S, Lawyer-cum-Legal Representative of ANEC Trust, issued the statement.
UNI DS
Tags: #Wild elephant injured during RRT operation in Kerala# ANEC seeks probe
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