Industrialist Ratan Tata on June 3 condemned the killing of a pregnant elephant in Kerala and called it a "meditated murder".
A pregnant wild elephant in Kerala died on May 27 after she ate a pineapple filled with firecrackers that was allegedly offered to her by some locals. The firecracker burst inside her mouth making her suffer in pain. The autopsy report of the elephant revealed that she had severe traumatic injuries.
"I am grieved and shocked to know that a group of people caused the death of an innocent, passive, pregnant elephant by feeding the elephant with a pineapple filled with firecrackers," Ratan Tata tweeted.
"Such criminal acts against innocent animals are no different than acts of meditated murder against other humans," said the veteran industrialist.
A keen animal lover, the Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus said that "Justice needs to prevail."
— Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) June 3, 2020
The Kerala government on June 3 said that an investigation into the matter was underway. A wildlife crime investigation team will be looking into the brutal killing which enraged people, many of whom took to Twitter to share art in the animal's memory.
Amid nationwide outrage over the incident, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on June 4 said that strict action will be taken against those who killed the wild elephant.
Central Government has taken a very serious note of the killing of an elephant in Mallapuram, #Kerala. We will not leave any stone unturned to investigate properly and nab the culprit(s). This is not an Indian culture to feed fire crackers and kill.@moefcc @PIB_India @PIBHindi
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) June 4, 2020