A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking the CBI probe into tragic killing of a pregnant elephant by feeding her explosive-filled pineapple in Palakkad district of Kerala, last month.
The plea by advocate Avadh Bihari Kaushik contended that it appeared to be the well-calculated and organised killing of the protected animals.
The "horrific, tragic, brutal, cruel and inhumane act" was required to be probed by the CBI or a special investigation team, consisting of experts from various fields, headed by a retired judge of this court to examine the entire issue on a larger scale and to suggest requisite steps to be taken in order to curb the menace, he said.
Besides, the incident at Palakkad, yet another elephant was reported to have been killed in a similar fashion in Pathanapuram forest range area under Punalur division in Kollam district of state of Kerala in April, 2020, he pointed out.
The elephant is a protected wildlife animal listed in scheduled-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The act of killing of the pregnant elephant triggered nationwide outrage making the citizens of the entire country agonized. Social media was also flooded with messages of anguish and anger.
The petitioner contended that the authorities concerned have failed to take requisite and appropriate measures to curb the menace of illegal poaching and brutal killing of the wild elephant in various states including Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam.