Kerala bridegroom mounts elephant for wedding photo session, courts trouble

Held along with four others for endangering public safety

Illustration for TH_sreejith r.kumar

The Social Forestry Department officials have arrested a bridegroom and four others from Narippatta panchayat here for allegedly misusing a captive elephant for a wedding photo session and public parade without securing prior permission.

Officials said a case was registered against the five on Sunday invoking the Kerala Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Rules. The arrested were R.K. Sameeh, Saleem Rawther, Mohammed Najeeb, K. Krishnan Potti, and Rahul Rajan.

Sameeh, the bridegroom, posed for the wedding photograph atop the elephant and allegedly paraded thus in front of hundreds of invitees to pep up his wedding ceremony. The Social Forestry wing was alerted by a group of local residents seeking action.

Range officer Saveen Sundar said the case was registered as they tried to endanger public safety at a private event. “The arrested included the mahout, the captive elephant’s legal custodian and two others whose names were on the microchip implanted on the animal. All were released on bail,” he told

The Hindu .

Warnings ignored

It was around 3.30 p.m. on Sunday that the elephant was brought to the venue for the open photo shoot and a public parade. Though the youth was alerted of the legal complications and the safety risks, he reportedly ignored the warnings.

Though the youth contended that it was not a planned event, the officials rejected the claim. This was the second such incident reported in Kozhikode district, the noted.