Pregnant elephant `murdered' in Kerala district: Maneka Gandhi

Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday termed the death of a pregnant elephant in Kerala after she ate cracker-stuffed pineapple allegedly given by a local as "murder" and said Malappuram was the "most violent district" in the country.

"It is not an incident. It is a murder. A pregnant elephant was fed a pineapple filled with bomb that exploded its mouth. Malappuram is very famous for incidents like this. It is the most violent district in the whole of India," Maneka Gandhi told .

"It is not only the killing of elephants that Malappuram is famous for. The panchayat throws poison at random on the road so that hundreds of birds and dogs die at one time. They will hit women and there have been political conflicts in which they have cut off people's arms. It is an extremely violent area and the government of Kerala has taken no action at all. It seems like they are scared of them," she said.

Maneka Gandhi, a BJP MP and an mal rights activist, said India has been left with less than 20,000 elephants and soon they will reach "tiger status".

"We have less than 20,000 elephants left in India, their numbers are very rapidly declining and soon we will reach tiger status for elephants," she said.

The elephant had died on May 27 after she ate the pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with her mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the fruit exploded in her mouth.

Maneka Gandhi had earlier slammed the state government for not taking mal cruelty seriously.

"Mallapuram is known for its intense criminal activity especially with regards to mals. No action has ever been taken against a single poacher or wildlife killer so they keep doing it. I can only suggest that you call/email and ask for action," she said in a tweet.

Mannarkkad forest range officer said on Wednesday that a FIR has been lodged against unidentified people under relevant sections of Wild Life Protection Act over the incident.

( With inputs from ANI )