How A Kerala Man Smuggled Around 200 Captive Elephants Using Forged Documents, Micro Chips
The accused, identified as Puthenkulam Shaji, a native of Kollam District of Kerala was arrested on Sunday by Navi Mumbai police in Thane district. Shaji who owns the first private 'elephant park' in Kerala is wanted in five cases of illegal trafficking of elephants and was on the run for nearly six months.
Ivory, which is the tusk of male elephants is among one of the most sought-after items in the international wildlife trade, and every year thousands of tuskers are killed around the world for this.
But can an elephant be trafficked? Given its size, the answer will be no.
bccl/file
However, a man from Kerala has been arrested in Mumbai for smuggling, not one, but around 200 elephants to the state.
The accused, identified as Puthenkulam Shaji, a native of Kollam District of Kerala was arrested on Sunday by Navi Mumbai police in Thane district.
Shaji who owns the first private 'elephant park' in Kerala is wanted in five cases of illegal trafficking of elephants and was on the run for nearly six months.
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After being informed by Kerala forest department officials, a Navi Mumbai police team nabbed accused V Shaji from Khoparkhairane area on February 24, Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Patil said.
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), Western Region, Navi Mumbai which arrested Shaji has since handed him over to the investigators in Kerala.
What's the story?
According to the investigators in Kerala, Shaji who owns around 20 elephants, including one of them named 'Puthenkulam Modi' has been smuggling elephants from Assam and Bihar and selling them in Kerala where they are in high demand.
Elephant "Puthenkulam MODI" from Kollam district, Kerala.
¡ª Ganesh (@ganeshkn) February 3, 2020
Photo credits: Unknown pic.twitter.com/n3AXRJJu65
Shaji who comes from a family that owned tuskers for two generations landed in trouble in October 2020 after a video of him went viral.
In the video, Shaji was heard bragging about how he smuggled over 200 elephants from Assam, Bihar and Andaman to Kerala.
After his video surfaced, the Kerala Forest Department launched a probe and found that documents of 15 elephants owned by him were forged and took them to custody.
Shaji had been absconding ever since.
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According to the Forest Department, Shaji has been smuggling elephants to Kerala using forged ownership documents. He also manipulated the microchip implanted on dead captive elephants to hide the real identity of the jumbos he brought to Kerala.
Elephants protected under law
Elephants are protected under law in India, but a loophole in the law is being used to exploit these elephants.
According to Section 40 (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it is prohibited to possess, acquire, dispose of and transport a captive elephant without written permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden or the Authorized officer under the WPA, 1972.
BCCL
Section 43 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, restricts the sale, purchase, or transfers of captive elephants from one person to another for monetary considerations or any other profitable gain.
However, until recently elephants including those illegally captured jumbos were sold at the Sonepur Cattle Fair in Bihar.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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