The Forest Department has arrested two persons in connection with the death of an elephant in a stream in Mannarkkad forest range in the district. They were taken into custody on Thursday evening.Fore

The Forest Department has arrested two persons in connection with the death of an elephant in a stream in Mannarkkad forest range in the district. They were taken into custody on Thursday evening.
Forest officers said they were questioning the suspects. Sources said they were local dealers of explosives.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau regional head T. Uma from Chennai, who was on her way to Mannarkkad, will investigate the suspects soon.
The elephant died in the Velliyar stream at Ambalappara near Thiruvizhamkunnu forest station on May 27 apparently after having sustained wounds in its mouth a few days earlier. The wound was presumably caused by some explosives set as a trap by local farmers against wild animals.
On postmortem, the elephant was found to have been pregnant and that its jaw bone was broken. When the incident came to light about a week later, a nationwide hue and cry was raised over the killing of the animal.
A section of the media sensationalised the elephant death, and wrongly ascribed to neighbouring Malappuram district, where Muslims are in majority. The Muslim community was at the receiving end as many people, including former Union Minister and BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, described the district and its people as killers.