Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Elephant tusks seized, two arrested

Staff Reporter

The elephant was killed in the Adimali forest range

Thiruvananthapuram: The Forest Department confiscated a pair of elephant tusks from the house of a suspected ivory dealer here on Wednesday. Two persons, Bhaskaran, 50, of Neriyamangalam and Chandran, 48, of Adimali, were arrested in connection with the seizure.

The 2.2 kg tusks were extracted from a young male elephant killed by poachers in the Adimali forest range in Idukki district early this month, said department officials. The carcass of the five-year-old elephant with its tusks missing was sighted early this week. The kill was found deep inside the reserve forests of Parappara in the Machiplavu forest station limits in the Adimali forest range.

A team led by range officer V.G. Suresh Kumar questioned several tribal and local people living along the forest border. "An informer told us that he had seen Bhaskaran and Chandran in the forest a few times. The information led to their arrests," said Mr. Suresh Kumar. Bhaskaran and Chandran were involved in at least three elephant poaching cases registered in the State since 2000, he said.

A country-made muzzle-loading gun, believed to have been used to kill the elephant, was seized from the accused. The investigators learnt that the poachers could not extract the tusks on the day of the kill because of the presence of a violent and big herd of elephants in the area. The tusks were extracted only a week later, said the officials.

On the basis of the statement given by Chandran, the Forest enforcers raided the house of a 45-year-old man, Princeton Silvia, at Eenchakkal and seized the tusks. An official said Chandran had sold the tusks for Rs.8,000 to Silvia, who is yet to be arrested. The department suspects Silvia to be a regular recipient of illegally procured forest products, mainly ivory. After Jaipur in Rajasthan, Eenchakkal and Muttathara have the largest number of traditional artisans specialising in carving ivory. The tusks were procured on behalf of some of them, said a Forest Intelligence Wing official.

The department has strengthened patrolling in the Adimali range. There is a proposal to set up anti-poaching watchtowers inside the Adimali forests.

The poachers in the area are closely linked to some gangs specialising in the theft of valuable forest timber. In the past year, Adimali range officers detected at least eight instances of teak and rosewood smuggling. Several vehicles used to transport the illegally felled trees were also seized. The elephant carcass will be subjected to a post-mortem examination on Thursday.

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