The government has constituted a six-member committee to inquire into the killing of veterinary officer C. Gopakumar, by a captive elephant in musth, at Vaipur near Mallappally on January 11.
The committee comprises Om Prakash Kaler, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Biodiversity Cell); M.N. Jayachandran, SPCA president, Idukki; George Chandy, officer-in-charge of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Pookode; Sasindradev, veterinary surgeon attached to Forest Department in Konni; and the Divisional Forest Officers in Konni and Punalur. The government directive was on the basis of a complaint filed by the Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force.
The committee would study all aspects of the incident in which the doctor was trampled to death while tranquilising the elephant.
Dr. Gopakumar was an elephant lover and an expert in tranquilizing animals. The committee would submit its report to the government in a month, official sources said.
