The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Forest department to respond within a week to the allegation that the Thekkampatti camp for temple elephants in Coimbatore district had been cordoned off with barricades and tin sheets.
The barricading was apparently done after a video of Srivilliputtur Andal temple elephant Jayamalyatha being beaten up by its mahout and another caretaker went viral on social media recently.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy called for an explanation after public interest litigant Rangarajan Narasimhan produced photographs of the camp having been completely cordoned off.
He had filed a case last week against the ill-treatment of temple elephants and the court passed an interim order seeking a comprehensive report on banning private ownership of elephants in future and steps taken to ensure the well-being of those already in captivity.
He said that after the court passed interim orders in his public interest litigation petition and took cognisance of the video, the camp had been made out of bounds for the public. He claimed to have got information that one more temple elephant had pushed its mahout in the camp on Sunday.
