Towards the end of May, a pregnant elephant in Kerala's Silent Valley Forest was offered a pineapple filled with firecrackers. The powerful crackers exploded in her mouth, and the elephant died in excruciating pain while trying her best to remain calm.
In recent times we have seen some of the best and worst of humanity reflected in the news, and this certainly seems to have been an act committed by the dregs of society. The news has created a large-scale outrage, and on Wednesday, "RIPHumanity" trended on Twitter.
Reportedly, it was meant to be a "practical joke", but most people have found nothing funny about the situation. As BJP leader and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi put it, this was murder.
""It is not an incident. It is a murder. A pregnant elephant was fed a pineapple filled with bomb that exploded its mouth," she said.
Hitting out at her nephew Rahul Gandhi, Maneka also alleged that such incidents were common in Malappuram and indeed Kerala as a whole.
Maneka criticised Rahul Gandhi for not taking action against the perpetrators of the vicious crime.
"Forest Secretary should be removed and the minister (for wildlife protection), if he has any sense, should resign. Rahul Gandhi is from that area, why has he not taken action?" she wondered.
Now, it must be mentioned that Wayanad and Malappuram are two different districts. The latter incidentally has PK Kunhalikutty of the Indian Union Muslim League as its Lok Sabha MP. But as ANI adds, Malappuram district is a form part of Rahul's Wayanad constituency.
"Rahul chose that area himself. He shall sort out problems of that area instead of trying to resolve issues of the whole country by giving mere speeches," Maneka Gandhi added.
She also said that such incidents were rampant in Malappuram and that it was "India's most violent district"
"For instance, they throw poison on roads so that 300-400 birds and dogs die at one time," she told ANI.
