: The Assam government has petitioned the Gauhati High Court in the case of an “abused” female captive elephant taken to a temple in Tamil Nadu on lease in 2011.
Assam’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, M.K. Yadava told journalists that the State government was awaiting the court’s directive on the issue.
Following a report on the torture of Joymala – renamed Jeymalyatha – by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the Assam government had sent a four-member team of forest and police officials to Tamil Nadu on September 2 for inspecting the condition of the elephant and initiating the process of bringing her back.
PETA India released a video on August 26 on social media platforms showing mahouts torturing Joymala inside a Tamil Nadu temple. The elephant is heard screaming in pain in the viral video.
The Tamil Nadu government, which countered the PETA India allegations with a video showing Joymala was being pampered, has so far declined to let the Assam team near the elephant. The team has been asked by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to stay in the southern State until instructed otherwise.
Also read: Assam team to visit Tamil Nadu to inspect captive jumbo’s condition
“The team is currently in Chennai. In the meantime, the Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu’s Forest Department has sent a letter to our Chief Secretary. We have not been able to ascertain any facts from them so far, but they have assured us that the elephant was doing fine,” Mr Yadava said.
The issue of Joymala came up in the Assam Assembly on September 14.
In a reply to All India United Democratic Front MLA Ashraful Hussain, Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Potowary said the government has been relying on media reports to get updates on the condition of Joymala. “We are told the elephant is in good health now,” he said.
